Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
by jumbyxjenkins
Summary: After an assassination attempt, an ancient demon escapes to the Living World to die, only a little girl named Keiko isn't going to let that happen; entering the demon into a life-debt she never asked for. Disguising herself as a human preteen to protect Keiko and uphold the life-debt, she quickly gets dragged into more than she bargained for. (Language&Sexual content) (Kurama/OC)
1. Miss You Like Hell

~~NOTES~~~

Hey ya'll! Welcome to my fic! I have the vast majority of this fic already written, and it has just been chillin' in my google docs because I hate everything I write immediately after I write it. But some fellow writers encouraged me to post it anyway, so here it is. This is an OC/Kurama fic, it will most definitely earn its M rating (Eventual smut warning) also, I love profanity. Sorry for errors, I am my own beta. Let me know what you think!

*I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. Hell, I barely own my OC's.

* * *

*Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. –Aesop*

PROLOGUE: Scars of the Past

*The past can't hurt you anymore…Not unless you let it. –Alan Moore*

I watched Yoko run away. He didn't want to…but he did. I wanted one of us to get out alive. He warned me. I didn't listen. I fucked up. Now I was watching the world fade away as my vision disappeared. My blood shooting through the bamboo was slowing down... I didn't have much left. I thought I heard the voices that were chasing us stop, but I rationalized that it was only my senses fading away with my life.

And then I saw her approaching me. I didn't even hear her at all…didn't see her until she was centimeters away from me. She was beautiful, her eyes were so deep of a blue they were almost black. She had long black hair, but speckled with enough single white hairs to make it seem like it shimmered, and it was pulled up into a high tail, much like mine. She had ears almost like Yoko's except hers were much thicker and shorter. The hair on them was denser, and there were little tufts of white hair on their tips. I could see the two little spots of white where her canines extended past her lips. I remember thinking that this was a weird look for an angel of death. I used what little energy I had left to follow her gaze down to my hand. My pendant. She looked back up at me and spoke,

"You have the stone!" She exclaimed, a smile on her face, but I wasn't sure if she was asking or telling. This wasn't how I wanted to spend my last moments alive. "I can save you. But you have to give me that stone to do it." She was serious.

"Why should I trust you?" I just gave my life for this stone, I wasn't about to just give it away.

"Well, _bat,_ you don't have much of a choice. You can either give me the stone and let me save your life, or I can just wait the three minutes you have left, and take it from your lifeless hand. Your choice." I resigned. She had a point. I opened my fist. I would have handed it to her, but there was bamboo through that wrist. She grabbed the pendant from my hand before turning back to look at me.

"Okay. This is going to be really weird. But you are just going to have to trust me, and not fight it, okay?" I nodded, I didn't believe she could save me. The blood had already stopped flowing. I was already dead. She reached up and entwined the fingers of her left hand with my right. She pulled a large knife from her belt, and before I could even think about what she was doing, she plunged the knife through both of our hands. I thought I had felt all the pain possible from all the spikes protruding through my body. I was wrong. I had one scream left in me, but this time she joined me, though her scream was higher pitched. She pulled the knife out of our hands, and then separated them just enough to shove the pendant inside. I could feel its edges inside the wound…inside my hand, and I am sure the other half of it was in hers.

"The hell are you-" I managed to choke out, but she cut me off while leaning in,

"Trust me. Don't fight it." And then her lips were on mine and her hand squeezed mine tighter. The stone began to _burn._

Then it got weirder. I had always heard that when you die, you see your entire life flash before your eyes. I thought that was what I was seeing. But it wasn't my life I was seeing. It was hers.

I saw her as a young wolf, running through a field, chasing prey with her pack. I felt her sense of freedom.

I saw her after she finally developed her humanoid form, and her mother placing a rose in her hair. There was no white then. She was so happy.

I saw her with a much older wolf spirit. Undergoing the same ritual I was undergoing now. With the pendant that was now lodged in my hand.

I felt the pain of watching her parents murdered, and the warmth of their blood splashing on her face. I felt her anger. Her need for revenge.

I felt her fear as she ran from other demons, and humans, and agents of spirit world. Her distrust of anyone but herself. Her longing for her pack.

I felt her glee as she slaughtered those she felt wronged her as she searched for the stone of her people. The same stone I now possessed. The stone I was willing to die for.

I watched her entire relationship with a human man. She loved him, more intensely than I thought was possible. He had feelings for her, but he hated demons more. He never touched her. Not even once.

I watched as she watched the man she loved get impaled on the sword of a man I knew, a man I disliked…

I watched through her eyes as she held him in her arms. His life faded away. Knowing she would never feel his touch. Doubting she could ever love anyone else the same way. Knowing she could have saved him if she had the stone. I felt her agony.

I felt her life like it was my own. Her happiness. Her love. Her pain. Her regret. All of it. Before I could process any of it she pulled away. I realized I felt so _different._ My energy as I knew it was gone, but I somehow felt…stronger. When just moments ago I was seconds from death.

She began to pull the spikes from my body, and she spoke, "Look, I know it feels different. Believe me I do. But you are going to have to try to heal yourself. You can still bleed to death, it is just much harder."

"What did you do? What are you?" I glanced to the holes in my body, and found that they had stopped bleeding, and were sealing up, "What am _I_?"

"Healing and escaping now. Explanations later… You saw my soul. You know how to heal yourself. You just have to try."

 _Her soul? I was seeing her soul?_ But she was right. I began to focus on the healing, and it went even faster. I stood up, and she nodded at me, and ran off down the hallway. I followed, I saw the trail of dead guards. _She must have killed them on her way to me. How did she know how to find me?_

I was shocked when I felt her in my head and heard her voice. "I could feel the stone as I got closer to it. You should be able to feel it now too."

I spoke aloud, "What the hell was that?"

She was in my head again, "We are connected now. Part of the deal. You don't have to speak aloud, you can just think _at_ me, and I will hear it in my head like you are hearing me now."

We ran in silence after that, until we made it into an area of the nearby woods we knew was safe. She spoke first, "I am sure you would rather actually speak? I am sure you have a lot of questions I would be happy to answer."

"Yeah. Thanks…what did you do to me?" To my surprise, she laughed.

"I used the stone to conduct a ritual to make you into a demon like me. It is done by sharing blood and sharing the soul. Perks are, you can siphon energy from other living beings, including their skills, knowledge, or powers. You can shift your body and energy into the form of any being you have seen, and you have very advanced healing, especially when sapping the energy of another being, such as back there, when you were taking mine."

I stared at her as she spoke, "And the downsides?"

"You are now a member of a demon race that is basically extinct because spirit-world rewarded the genocide of our people. Anyone who knows what you are will try to kill you to sell your body parts on the black market to the highest bidder. Silver is incredibly toxic, and if you can't siphon energy from someone else, it will kill you in minutes. And the use of your real name will render you immobile for a few moments."

"Wait, so I am a wolf-spirit now? I still look and feel like a bat."

"No, you are a skin-walker. They may have begun in the wolf-spirits, but it's not limited to them"

"I thought they were the same thing? And the legends all say they are extinct."

"Most did…and that is good for us. People don't think to look for something they think no longer exists."

"How many of you…us…are there?"

"Now there are two."

"We are the only ones?" I ask, and she nods only once. "Can I go back to my old life?"

"I won't stop you, but I wouldn't recommend it. Anyone who knows your name can and will kill you."

"Shit. My partner and I were kind of famous in the thieving world."

"Then I recommend changing your form, and choosing a new name." She held up my pendant, "If you don't intend to come with me, I will have to keep this as payment for saving your life."

"You want me to come with you?"

"I saw myself in you…that's why I saved you rather than just letting you die…" She swung my pendant around, "Also, I plan to steal a lot of shit, and I would like to be able to do it with less murder. I am trying to _not_ be a monster."

"You want my help to steal things?" I ask, and she nods again, reversing direction on the twirling pendant. "We aren't like…married now, right?" Her slight smile quickly burst into a laugh.

"No. I don't need a husband. I need a burglary partner…fair warning though, that soul share thing will happen with _anyone_ you kiss. At anytime. So unless you want them to see the deepest depths of your soul, I would recommend leaving kissing out of any future sexual escapades."

"Who said I had sexual escapades?" I retort, and she quirked an eyebrow.

"Look at you."

"Is that a compliment?" I waggled a brow suggestively.

"You can take it however you want." She laughed.

"When we kissed, I uh…saw your past. Did you see mine?"

"No, I blocked it out. Didn't want to intrude anymore than I had to…wait, how much of my life did you see?"

I scratched behind my ears, a little guilty, but she told me not to resist, how was I supposed to know to fight the memories? "I think basically all of it." She put her face in her hands for a moment, then looked back up at me.

"Shit. I meant to only transfer my powers. I knew some memories would slip through, but I didn't think you would see all of it…I am sorry you had to see that."

"Don't apologize. I owe you my life remember?" I stepped closer to her, "It helps me understand you more, also." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Woah there, _batboy,_ you aren't my type."

"Because I am not human?" I joked, but I saw from the way her mouth was open, she was not prepared. I felt guilty again, but then she smiled and shook her head, laughing lightly.

"Oh fuck you. That was low."

"I know. I am sorry…" She was laughing though, so I pushed my luck, "I'll save the human boyfriend jokes for at least past the first year of our partnership." She shook her head again.

"Great. I just had to choose a funny guy as my protégé." I smiled, because I knew even though I had a lot more experience with thievery, she had more life experience and more control over her powers than I could ever hope to have.

"What is your name?"

"The real one, or the one I use?" She spoke, but then after a moment of mental debate, she spoke again, "The real one is Luella. The one I use is Luna…And you?"

"Kuronue…I don't know what to call myself."

"You can just shorten your name to Kuro if you want. It still sounds like a name."

"Yeah…that sounds good." I walked up beside her, "Shall we get going…partner?" I bumped my hips into hers, and she laughed again, I felt her tail brush against the bottom of my wings. And I got a good look at it for the first time. Her tail was black like her hair and her ears, but with a white tip. Hers was shorter than Yoko's, but again, much denser. You could really tell she was a wolf. She looked up at me, and I returned my gaze to her face. She then placed my pendant in my hand.

"That is the last remaining relic of my people…But since you are sticking around, and since it seems to mean a lot to you…you can hold onto it…we can get it re-strung when we get to a town and find you a new form you want to keep. We can't have people recognizing you."

I clutched the pendant in my hand. I briefly considered finding Yoko, and telling him I was alive, but he had a lot of enemies. I trusted him, but I knew I couldn't trust anyone else surrounding him. Returning to him would only endanger myself, and endanger this woman who saved my life. A woman who already felt like family.

He was probably better off without me anyway. He wouldn't mourn for me long. He was strong. Far stronger than I ever was or could ever hope to be.

* * *

CHAPTER 1: Miss You like Hell

*Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling into at night. I miss you like hell. -Edna St. Vincent Millay*

I sit with my knees in the dying grass, finding myself thankful that some of the last grass left in Demon World is here…where I need it most.

I stare at the smooth granite headstone, remembering carrying it on my back from one of your favorite spots in human world, and carving your name with my bare claws.

I remember holding you in my arms, as your blood dripped onto my skin; looking into your eyes for the last time as I watched your light fade away.

I remember you raising your hand to my cheek, lightly dragging your fingers across my skin, leaving little trails of your blood as a reminder of what I was losing.

I remember hating myself for relishing in the feeling of your skin on mine for the first time, wondering why it had to be like this.

I felt the wind shift around me, dragging me from my memories, but before I had time to acknowledge the fact that I wasn't alone here, I felt the bullet enter my abdomen. The shot reached my ears moments later. I stood and ran, clutching my wound with my left hand. I looked down just long enough to realize why this bullet was different from all the others I had survived; I saw the liquid silver mixing with my own blood as It dripped through my fingers.

Before they could fire another shot, I raised my right hand to create a small split in space. I thought of the time I first saw you…laying in that field, surrounded by the corpses of your enemies, just smiling up at the clouds, and I stepped through my hole. It registered too late that was over 600 years ago, and that was most certainly not a simple field anymore. I used the last of my energy to shift to a normal adult human form and disguise my wound. No need to scare the humans as I die.

I opened my eyes to a dirty alleyway in Japan, the air smelled of ramen and pollution. I saw the people walking by on the busy street this alley connected to, but they were too far away to crawl to, and laying on the ground like this, I wouldn't be able to make enough contact to absorb any energy even if I made it to them. Accepting my impending death, I looked up at the sky, hoping to at least see the same sky as I did with you that day so long ago, only to be met with the yellow tinged air, and the trails of airplanes in the place of the fluffy white serenity I longed for. _Goddamn humans. Destroying everything they touch._ My mind flashed back to the scorched earth of my homeland in demon-world, how the land was ruined in an attack meant to destroy my entire race. _Not like demons are any better though… I just wish I didn't have to spend my last moments next to a dumpster in a human city…_

I was pulled from my dying thoughts by an exceptionally high pitched voice, "Oh my gosh! Are you okay, miss?!" I turn to the sound to see a small human, wearing a school uniform, and pigtails…the kind with the little plastic beads on the ties. _How cute._ She was running towards me, her eyes were tearing up as she looked at me. "Are you hurt?!" She glanced at my hand clutching my abdomen as she dropped to her knees in front of me, I could smell her blood as her knees scraped on the pavement, and I shivered. I knew she was expecting an answer, so I tried to calm the child.

"No, I…am just hungry." I answered her, trying not to let any of the blood in my mouth make it into her view. Her jaw went slack as she laid her hand gently on my bare arm,

"You are so cold!" She exclaimed, and then quickly shifted to stand up, "I know just the thing! Wait right here!" I watched as she ran back out of the alley and rounded the corner. _Not like I have a choice. If I move, I will bleed to death even faster._ I expected her to just leave, but to my surprise, I saw her round the corner again, precariously balancing what seemed to be a steaming bowl of ramen on a small plate, and a blanket over her arm. _No, she couldn't be…_

She sat the plate on the ground next to me, and then gently helped me sit up so I was propped up against the side of the building. Before I could really register what was happening, she was wrapping the blanket around my body, and rubbing my arms, trying to warm me. _Not like I can tell her "Don't bother, it's not temperature, its blood loss"_

She stopped, and then grabbed her bowl of ramen and scooted up closer to me, I realized her bare knee was touching mine, and I looked up at her, making eye contact for the first time. She had such concern in her eyes. They were tearing up as she held the bowl and spoon closer to my mouth. Then she spoke "Please…let me help you…I want to help you… I want to help in any way I can…" I conceded, and took the spoonful of hot soup she was offering me. She smiled softly, and a tear slid down her cheek. _She is way too kind to survive in this world._

"Why help me?" I ask, a little more gruffly than I intended, but she just smiled again, as she gave me another spoonful of soup,

"Because you have kind eyes…and I would hate to see you in pain if there was something I could do about it." She spoke sweetly, and I could hear the sincerity in her voice, and see it in her eyes. _She really wanted to help me…then…_ I began to sap energy from her from the connection at our knees. She barely seemed to notice, she just kept smiling and feeding me soup, like I was the child and she was the adult. I felt my bleeding stop, and I could feel the wound sealing up. I carefully watched her eyes for signs of weariness, and I stopped the second she began to look sleepy.

"How old are you? Do you live close?" I asked her, and she tried to pretend that her eyelids weren't heavy.

"I just turned thirteen. And my parents own the ramen shop you are leaning against." She giggled, and it was such a pleasant sound. It had been so long since I had been close enough to a normal human to have laughter directed at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her. "My name is Keiko Yukimura, and you are more than welcome to come back anytime you get cold or hungry!" Her happiness was almost infectious, like seeing that she had helped me improve was a drug for her.

"Thank you…Keiko. You have no idea how much your kindness means to me" I spoke softly, and somehow her smile widened even further.

"It's really no problem! I am more than happy to help..." She paused for a moment, and then it looked like realization dawned on her. "Oh! I didn't get your name?"

Then, I did something that every instinct that had kept me alive for four thousand years screamed at me not to do. "My name is Luella." I smiled at her.

"It was nice to meet you Ms. Luella! I hope you feel better soon! Come by anytime if you need anything!" She closed her eyes and tilted her head at an angle as she beamed at me, and then she stood up and rounded the corner, presumably heading back into the building. I tried to mask my emotions at hearing my true name spoken by someone I barely knew, but I did owe her my life after all…

I had sapped enough energy from her to stand and move, so I stumbled out into the street and began to walk; discretely touching every person I could to take small bits of energy from them. Eventually, I couldn't feel the gunshot any more, and then after that, I felt my energy returning. _Keiko Yukimura… I seem to owe you my life… Whatever will I do about that?_

Keiko slept for nearly sixteen hours straight. I felt guilty over taking so much energy from her, but she offered to help me, and I didn't have another option. _She didn't exactly intend to offer you her life energy; she just meant the soup…_ Ugh, whatever. I will make it up to her. Life debts are sacred…

I followed her as she went to school the next day. Keeping a safe distance, and a watchful eye, I knew if something bad were to happen, I probably couldn't make it to her fast enough to do much, but what were really the odds of something happening anyway? It's just a precaution to protect the sanctity of the life debt. _I am the last of my kind… if I don't maintain tradition, it is just gone. Erased from all three worlds forever, just like the records of us ever really existing._

I watched as she banged on the door of a nearby apartment, "Yusuke! You better be ready for school! Don't make me come in there and drag you out!" She screamed at the wooden door. _Ah, young love…_

I could barely hear the response from the other side, "Yeah..yeah…I'm coming, you big nag!" The boy stepped outside, and I was immediately hit with his scent. _Jesus. He smells so…strange._ I followed behind them as they walked down the street towards the school, bickering to each other the whole way. I tried to identify what he smelled like, or why he seemed familiar, but I couldn't seem to pin it down.

The closest I could get to placing the feeling, was that the boy…Yusuke… he smelled like a challenge. _Well, her boyfriend is going to attract stray demons like a damn magnet. This just got more difficult._ As I watched her in class through the windows of the school, I continued to think about the smell, and how vague it was. Subtle.

Most demons wouldn't even consciously realize he smelled different. They would just get a _feeling_ that he was different. In many ways that was worse than obviously smelling different; it meant they would want to figure out _why_ they got that feeling, rather than just chalking it up to poor eating habits or something ridiculous like that. Most demons wandering around human world were pretty stupid. But they wouldn't back down from a challenge. If her boyfriend was always in danger that meant Keiko would always be in danger. If I stayed too far away she could be hurt.

Well shit…What is plan B?

~~NOTES~~~

I put the prologue and chapter 1 in chapter one, because my OCD would go into overdrive if there was always a stagger between the chapter number as stated by the site and the chapter I claim it to be. As you can probably guess, Kuronue is going to play a big part in this story. (And yes, he will have a shipmate as well, though, later.) Comments/Reviews/Critiques are welcome and appreciated. Since this first chapter is being posted on Sunday, I will probably post the next one next Sunday. I have been told scheduling is helpful.


	2. Scariest Monsters

_~~NOTES~~~_

Yo! I know what you are thinking, "It's only Tuesday, you crazy bitch, what is the point of the schedule if you don't use it!" to which I reply with a list of retorts, "1. This chapter is much shorter than all the others to come, and since it still hasn't started the main beef of the plot, I felt like it would be a disappointment to have it be a full update, but I didn't just want to combine it with chapter 3, because I already have my quotes laid out, and I worked hard on finding applicable quotes for each chapter. 2. Why are you complaining about an extra update anyway? 3. I am avoiding my Thermodynamics homework like the plague, and what better way to do that than by spending an hour fighting with FFnet's/Ao3's formatting system (I swear, writing the damn chapter is the easiest part, getting the website to post it without fucking something up is the hard part)

Also, I have realized that perhaps most people have no idea what I am talking about when I refer to 'Skin-walkers' so I will give you a brief idea: Skin-walkers are a legend of the Native Americans (primarily Navajo, but other tribes have similar legends) They are said to be shapeshifters that often appear as wolfs, but also as 'humans' wearing the 'skin' of yourself or someone you know. They can read your mind/paralyze you with eye contact, and the only way to kill one is by calling it by it's true name. Of course, this isn't exactly the skinwalkers in my story (I drew inspiration from these legends as well as traditional creatures like werewolves and vampires, working under the idea that the warnings from the time when demons and humans existed together would be passed down as legends and myths in modern society.)

Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Expect Chapter 3 on Sunday as previously promised.

* * *

 _*The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls –Edgar Allen Poe*_

Watching Keiko work in her parent's shop after school, and yelling at Yusuke to 'Stop slacking off for once, and do his homework', I happened to think that there is still one person in this existence who may give a damn if I am alive or not. I am sure the news of my assassination has spread, and the SDF would never admit that I got away.

So I linked my mind to his, such a familiar feeling at this point, "Kuro?" I thought to him, trying to relay my feelings of safety through the connection, and I felt a wave of relief from his side.

"Luna! Holy shit, you're alive!" I heard his comforting voice in my head, and I felt the fear he did, "The SDF has been bragging about finally killing the last 'skin-walker'"

I chuckled, "At least they stopped referring to us as werewolves. At least the skin-walker legend is close to correct." A bit of relief washed over me, "And it means they don't know about you."

"But how did they even catch you? You are too smart for this"

I paused, not really wanting to admit my mistake, but he had to know. "I was visiting Geralt… They…were waiting for me. They knew when and where to be, and had bullets filled with liquid silver. I escaped to human world, and a little girl saved my life." First, I felt his amusement at the thought of a human child saving me, then I felt his suspicion.

"Someone tipped them off, someone was trying to get you killed. Do you think it was Yomi again?" He paused, and I felt the click of his idea, "And it can't be a coincidence that it is the same fashion in which my friend was killed…"

"I thought you said that was just a botched robbery?"

"That's what I thought, but now…after this…" He paused, and I felt the sadness of him mourning his friend. "Why would SDF be guarding that vault in the first place?" I felt his resolute confidence, and it was comforting, "Either Yomi is getting more elaborate in trying to kill you or someone is picking off thieves, and I am going to find out which…You in?"

"You know I would be but…" I felt his heart drop, and it killed me, "that girl saved my life. You know what that means."

"Yeah, I know you take life-debts really seriously…but what danger could a little human girl really be in?"

"Her boyfriend is going to be a magnet for demons…I can feel it."

"Shit…How are you going to be able to stay close enough to make a difference?" before he even finished his question, I felt that he knew the answer. He knows me so well, "No…You wouldn't! You'll die of boredom!"

"How bad can pretending to be a human pre-teen really be?"

"I don't know…I never really took to the whole pretending-to-be a human thing quite like you did." I heard the sarcasm, and felt the frustration.

"I'll be fine Kuro…I'll call you if you need anything." I assured him, trying to convince him of my confidence.

"You are such a stubborn bitch… I will call you if I find out anything" I felt his concern, and his love, and I sent it right back. "What if it is Yomi? Or what if it is someone else? Either way, he killed my old best friend, and then he tried to kill my new one. He will die slowly."

I laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way." I watched as Keiko retired to her room, and Yusuke headed out the door to walk home. "If I am going to do this, I have to go find myself an over-bearing parental figure." I felt his laugh. "Be safe Kuro, you're all I have left."

"And I, you" I smiled as I broke the connection, knowing that if he needed me, he would reconnect it. I watched with mild concern as three thugs tried to corner Yusuke on his way home. I heard his laugh as he beat them to the ground, and I laughed too. He'll be fine on his own. I leapt through the trees, to a familiar place across town. I saw all the students leaving the dojo in their gui's; sweaty but happy. I took a basic human form, probably an actress I saw on TV, and stepped inside. The smell of the sweat, mats and the bamboo kendo swords assaulted my nose.

"Lessons are over for today. Come back tomorrow." The teacher spoke, never even turning to look at me, still rubbing down the mirrors and mats.

I smiled and allowed my real voice to come through this human mouth, "But Hiro…You said I could come by anytime." I chuckled as he froze, dropping his cleaning supplies to the ground with a thud. "Don't look so scared. You know I won't hurt you."

He turned around, looking at me with stern defiance, "I am not scared for my life, I am scared for what you will have me do." His eyes were dark, they complimented his salt and pepper hair and scruffy beard. He always did look like that martial arts master stereotype.

I glared at him, "You owe me your life, you promised you would do whatever I ask, whenever I asked it." I saw him grind his teeth.

"I know, but forgive me if I am a little concerned about what a favor from a demon entails."

"You shouldn't speak of us with such contempt, considering you are now one, yourself."

"I don't feel like one. I still feel human."

"But you are one. Those are the facts…" I stare at him, finding more familiarity in his identity issues than I care to admit. "But anyways. You owe me."

"Fine…who do you want me to kill?" He spoke with such seriousness, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He looked horrified at that.

"Hiro. If I wanted to kill someone, I could do it much easier myself!" laughter aftershocks still shaking my body. I reached up to scratch my head where my ear would be. Will I ever get used to that? "No, this will be much harder, but of much less questionable morality." He quirked an eyebrow at me. "I owe a life-debt to a young human girl. Much like you owe one to me. To really keep her safe, I need to be closer than a tree a mile away. So I am going to make myself a girl her age. To pull this off, I need a parent. That's you."

He stared at me in silence for a minute. "You have got to be kidding me. I think I would rather kill someone."

"Oh, can it old man. It could have been much worse."

I saw a smile quirk up at the corner of his mouth, "Don't talk back to me young lady!"

I laughed again, stepping closer to him, and picking up his cleaning supplies. "See you are a natural." I picked up a spare sponge, and began to help him clean, handing his own sponge back to him.

"How old will you be?" He began to wipe the mirrors, in circles, careful not to streak it.

"Thirteen"

"Then it won't make much sense for me to be your father. I was sixty, remember?"

"Gramps, then?"

"Oh, God. I am going to regret this…" He sighs, adding more cleaner to his sponge.

"What happened to your parents, then?"

"I saw them killed in a…burglary." He stared at me,

"That's a little dark, don't you think?"

"Life is dark." I put more cleaner on my sponge, trying to follow his pattern of cleaning to avoid the streaks. "Besides, it's close enough to the truth that I won't get as bogged down by the lies."

"Your parents really died in a burglary?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly. There was a bounty on the heads of my species, spirit world wanted us gone. The best way to do that was to offer gold for our skulls…" circular patterns, focus on the cleaning. "Some sort of ogre broke into our home while we were having dinner, I recently picked up invisibility, so I hid myself. But I couldn't save them… He ripped out the heart of my father and shoved it down my mother's throat before beheading them both. He was strong, but too stupid to think about why there were three plates on the table."

"Shit." I could feel him staring at me.

"They had tried to convince me for weeks that spirit world didn't have a problem with all of us, just the ones doing bad things…" I chuckled, darkly. "I guess they learned their lesson…" the squeak, squeak on the mirror told me to spray again. "…and I figured, I was going to be hunted like a monster regardless…may as well become one." I looked over to find his mouth agape, "Don't you dare pity me, old-man. I slaughtered more than enough ogres to make up for the murder of my parents." I pointed to his sponge, and back to the mirror. "So, do you want to be my father's father, or my mother's father?"

"Whichever you think. Never had children, so it doesn't matter to me." He replied, re-cleaning the spots I left streaks on.

"You remind me of my father's father. Except less…furry." He laughed.

"Well, I'm not a wolf, so isn't that a good thing?"

"I suppose so…" I smirk, "What do you go by now?"

"Master Hiro Hamagi." He spoke proudly.

"Can I name myself Tsuki Hamagi or is that too obvious?"

"I don't think anyone is going to make the connection that you named yourself after the moon because you are a wolf spirit. They will just think your mother liked the moon"

"True…" I paused and turned to him, "What should I look like?"

He turned to me, apparently in thought, "I have an idea, shouldn't be too weird for me." He walked away, heading up the stairs. I heard movement and bumping, the signs of him looking for something, and a few minutes later he returned with a box. He sat it on the floor, and then pulled out a photograph, and handed it to me. "That was my mother when she was young, you think you can age that down?"

"How has this photo not turned to dust, you old bastard?" I joke, and cocks his head at me.

"I'm only about 200 now, you have –what- three thousand years on me?"

"Closer to four." I retort. "I am just practicing for being your grandchild. Relax." I look at the photo in my hand, the woman has what seems like light brown hair and blue eyes. Similar to Hiro, but a rare genetic anomaly in Japan. "She was beautiful, Hiro." He softly smiled to me. "I think I can do that." I focus on the picture, thinking about what she would look like as a thirteen year old, and I shift myself into that form.

He stares at me for a moment, "It still amazes me how you can do it that fast. It takes me ages to learn someone else's form."

I smirk, "seventeen hundred years of practice, pops." I see his brow furrow in confusion. "I was changed just like you. Wolves weren't always skin-walkers. We were just wolves, like any other animal spirit. Then elder Maka created what he called the 'Stone of the Blood Moon' and we began to change. It was a choice." I chuckle. "My parents weren't even skin-walkers… just wolves. But all wolves paid the price for the ones of us that wanted to evolve." I look down at my small hands, and my clothes that are now too large. "How do I look?"

"You look great. Except that your clothes don't fit." I handed the picture back to him. "But that is an easy fix." He holds the photo, "Don't you need this?"

"No, once I have shifted into it, I can remember it." I watched him look lovingly at the picture, then place it back into the box. "Do you have a spare room up there? Appearances matter you know."

"Yeah, just books and boxes in there. I can move some stuff around so you can fit some furniture in there."

"So, I need to get clothes, furniture, and documents to enroll myself in her school."

"We can do that tomo-"

I cut him off, "I can handle it. I don't want to inconvenience you more than I have to. I can help you teach your classes too, when I know that she is somewhere safe."

"You can't kill my students." I knew he was joking with me, but he said it so matter-of-factly, I laughed.

"You know I can do everything I need to without harming anyone. And I won't have to. When they see a thirteen year old girl kicking their ass in martial arts, they will step up on their own, or die of embarrassment."

"What should I tell them for why you are suddenly here?"

"I was studying abroad to get over the death of my parents. You never told them about me or them because it hurt too much. Grief is a great excuse for most lies." I shift back into my normal human form, the actress from before, finding my clothes fit again, and I head out the door. I hear him yell after me,

"Be back before curfew!"

"Ha!" I yell through the door as I head out into the night to find someone who can make me some fake documents.


	3. Wearing a Face

_~~NOTES~~~_

Hey ya'll! Happy Sunday! Here's your update! Hope you like it! Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it! Also, most of the time I have absolutely no idea how to respond to reviews. I read and love them, I just don't know what to say. I am sorry, I'll try to figure something out.

* * *

 _*No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true. – Nathaniel Hawthorne*_

Becoming Keiko's friend, which I thought was going to be the hardest thing to make seem natural was actually the easiest. She was the class representative, so she was the one charged with showing me around the school, and making things easier for me. We talked that whole first day, and I learned that the kindness she had shown to me the first time we met, wasn't just a onetime occurrence, or a way to make up for a guilty conscience, that was just her. She was friendly to everyone. She seemed thrilled that I scored nearly perfect on the entrance exam, _What can I say? Human colleges have always been fun, and nobody objects to a strange face listening to a lecture. Absorbing knowledge from people I touch certainly helps too…_ She seemed excited to have someone to talk to about the schoolwork. Apparently being the top student all the time put a lot of pressure on her. I was happy to alleviate some of that.

Her other friends seemed cheerful, but shallow. Every time she spoke about Yusuke, they would question why she even hung out with him, and she would look sad. I knew that I had no logical reason to know what they were talking about, so I stayed quiet. When the day was almost over, I was still talking to Keiko and her two shallow friends; I didn't even bother learning their names. Yusuke came up to us to talk to Keiko.

"Hey Keiko, who's your new friend?" He asked her, sly smile on his face.

The lighter haired one spoke for Keiko. Strike one. "This is Tsuki, she is the new girl. She has even better grades than Keiko." Insulting Keiko, strike two. "So she wouldn't want to be around someone like a delinquent fighter like you." Insulting Yusuke, strike three. The bitch is out.

"You know, just because someone is a fighter doesn't make them a bad person. But assuming a person's interest's based on their grades or whether or not they can fight, does." I spoke with a smile. Girls fight with words and underhanded insults rather than fists, not my favorite approach, but I can swing it. Why couldn't a boy have saved my life? When I glanced over and saw Keiko beam at me, I realized, I was probably the only other person who had ever stood up for Yusuke. Even Yusuke looked shock. When the light haired girl made an "Umpf!" sound and stormed away, I thought I should probably rationalize my words.

"My family has always been into martial arts. I live with my grandpa at his dojo, and I help him give lessons."

Keiko continued to beam at me, "Tsuki that is amazing, and so interesting, that you can do something like that and be so good at school! I would love to see your grandfather's dojo! I always thought martial arts were strangely beautiful, but I thought everyone would judge me for it." Her voice faded, and Yusuke popped in.

"If you loved martial arts so much, why do you always bitch at me for fighting?" He grumbled at her,

"You don't use martial arts Yusuke, you just punch people wildly until they fall down." The tone she used, and the face Yusuke made broke my mask and I laughed.

"At least it works." I replied, still giggling, not really used to the high-pitched sound of my young voice.

Yusuke turned to me, "So you fight, too?"

I smiled at him, and then at Keiko, "I prefer to use my words before my fists, but I can fight if I need to." _I am such a filthy liar._ Keiko looked at Yusuke defiantly, pleased that I backed up her point. The three of us hung out the rest of the day. The two girls from before stared at me with the sort of amusing hatred that only angry thirteen year olds can produce. Keiko didn't even seem to notice, she was too busy bickering with Yusuke with my support.

The three of us became good friends after that. Keiko had stopped hanging out with the two shallow girls. She knew she needed more friends than just Yusuke, but he was always going to be her best friend, because they were in love (Though neither of them would admit it, even to themselves) I became that feminine friend she needed to have, and I was happy to keep her safe from my permanent third wheel position. Keiko and I would do the stereotypical girl things, like shopping and watching cheesy art films, and the three of us would hang out frequently, eating at her family's restaurant, and even hanging out at Hiro's dojo.

Keiko even started taking classes. She wasn't great at it. But she did learn how to throw a decent punch, and protect herself from attacks. Which made me feel a little better about the times when I couldn't watch her. Yusuke would never admit weakness and officially take classes, but Hiro and I taught him proper fighting when we could. The kid had talent for it, I will give him that.

Just as I figured, there were a few times when a demon would catch Yusuke's scent and come by, but I was always aware of them, and could convince them it was nothing before they even realized someone was in their head. It took very little focus to alter the minds of the simple demons, most of the time I could do it without even breaking the conversation I would be having with Yusuke and Keiko. They never even had a clue. That was why I was here.

Things were normal like that for about a year. I remember walking Keiko home from school after Yusuke skipped out early, she was very angry at him, as usual, but there was nothing she could do. He loved to fight and hated school. She couldn't change that, and no matter how much she hated to admit it, she didn't really want to. It was part of who he was.

I sat down at the table in the kitchen of the dojo. Hiro was making some sort of soup. He spoke "How was school today, dear?"

"You don't have to put on the caring grandpa routine. It is just us here." I heard him chuckle as he turned to me, placing a bowl of steaming miso soup in front of me. "You are aware we get no nutritional value from human food, right?"

"I know…" He smiled, sitting down in front of his own bowl, "Doesn't change the fact that it tastes good."

I smirk, "Yeah, human food really is the best." I begin to eat my soup. "Those two little bitches won't stop thinking about how much they hate my guts. It's getting annoying. Tell me again why I can't just tell them to kill themselves?"

"Well the obvious answer is that it is _wrong_ but that isn't how you think. So, the other answer is that they were once Keiko's friends, and if they were to die, she would be sad." He sipped from his spoon.

"Why you gotta go bringing logic into this? Do you know how long it has been since I killed someone?" I started to take another sip when the phone rang, and Hiro and I looked at each other. We both got that eerie feeling that something was wrong. I picked up the phone, and I could hear sobbing and heavy breathing on the other end. "Keiko?"

"Yusuke is dead." Was all she spoke, I could hear her tears hitting the phone, and I felt what little was left of my heart break for her. And I knew everything was changing.

"I'll be right there." I spoke, with as much love in my voice as I could muster, and I ran out the door.

That's when shit got _weird._

* * *

I realized after I had left that she was probably about to go to his wake. I was lucky that I liked black, since I didn't even think of changing clothes before I left, I just left. When I got to Keiko's I saw her just standing in the shop, staring that the stool that was always Yusuke's spot. Her parents flanking her on both sides, unsure about what to do.

"Keiko…" I whispered. I could barely hear my own voice, but she could. She ran for me, throwing herself into my arms, and we both sank to the floor. Her face was buried in my shoulder, and I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

"Tsuki, I don't know what to do…" Her voice broke into more sobs, I held her tight, stroking her hair and glancing up to her concerned and saddened parents. "I don't know how to go on without him here…" More sobs. _I don't even know how normal people handle death. I usually just go on murderous rampages._

"We will get through it…together…" I whispered in her ear, and she clutched me tighter, her sobs seemed to fade, and then she pulled away.

"We need to get going." I nodded and stood. I held her hand in mine as we exited the shop, and headed towards Yusuke's apartment. In the silence, with her skin against mine I could feel her pain, and her helplessness, her sadness. I saw flashes of her memories with Yusuke. The first time they met...Several instances of him lifting her skirt, and her slapping him. All those happy memories going through her mind as we walked only seemed to intensify her pain. As her pain grew, so did my anger.

She managed to stay pretty collected as we went into the wake, her parents remained outside and she and I went in to pay our respects to Atsuko, and too see Yusuke… I think upon seeing a picture of him looking at her from above a box she knew held his corpse, she sort of broke. She stumbled out of the small apartment, screaming. "Keiko, we'll be okay…" I tried to calm her down, I could feel all the eyes on her, the group of kids laughing. My rage grew as she screamed in pain for Yusuke.

I helped her get out of the entryway to the apartment, and towards the side. And by helped, I mean I dragged her. I hate this. As I held her, and muffled her screams with my own body, I heard more screaming beside me. That other boy, Kuwabara, was forcing his way in as his friends tried to hold him back. He was screaming more _at_ Yusuke than for him. Yelling about how he was a dirty punk for running away from a fight. When I heard the scream of "who am I gonna fight now!" I felt my heart break some more. I barely knew this guy, only watched from afar as Yusuke beat him up several times a week. Maybe I sympathized because it was closer to how I would react. How I would feel. How I do feel. _Goddamn it, he was kind of my friend too._ His friends apologized as they dragged him away. Still screaming.

Next to us, I heard the words of those sadistic teachers. Mr. Iwamoto and Mr. Akashi

"Did you see those scum?"

"They're just some losers that Urameshi hung out with…too bad the car wasn't big enough for them too." I felt Keiko grip my shirt with more strength than I thought she had. I recognized that her tears of pain had turned into tears of rage. I was sort of regretting that Yusuke and I had rubbed off on her. I was hoping they shut up before she did something extremely stupid.

"Now, now we should be glad. After a life of being worthless, Yusuke did something to give our school a good reputation"

"Between you and me Mr. Iwamoto, I think he saved that kid on accident while he was trying to knock him down and take all his lunch money."

"I wouldn't be surprised by that Mr. Akashi." They laughed, and Keiko launched off of me, and in front of them before I even realized she had let me go. I saw Mr. Takanaka coming up behind them. He was probably a good man, who would say something, but Keiko beat him to the punch, so to speak.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves! It is one thing to insult somebody when they are alive, but to do it when they are dead is _sick_! You are both disgusting!" She screamed at them, and even though it was incredibly stupid to scream at a teacher if she wanted to keep her place in school, I was tremendously proud of her. When I saw her clenched fist start to come up, I grabbed her wrist. I wouldn't allow her to take it that far. She couldn't come back from that. But I wasn't fast enough to keep them from seeing her.

Iwamoto should have kept his mouth shut. But he didn't. "Go ahead, hit me! I see that the disease that was Urameshi rubbed off on his little tramp too!"

I probably should have thought the next part through a bit better, but I never was good about being calculating when someone hurts a friend. My left hand was still holding Keiko's right hook back, but my own right hand appeared to have a mind of its own, and it rocketed upward in an uppercut into the jaw of Mr. Iwamoto. I felt some of his teeth crack as they smacked together, and then his jaw dislocated. He hit the ground. Mr. Akashi was screaming about expulsion, Iwamoto was just screaming, and I turned to Keiko, and even through her tears in her eyes, she smiled at me. _It was worth it._ I glanced to Takanaka. He was looking around, and I could see in his eyes he was trying to figure out some way to keep the consequences from happening. But everyone was watching us. Everyone had seen. Keiko hadn't done anything. She was safe. I, on the other hand, was not. I was going through the options in my head, trying to figure out some way to capture all thirty of these people and erase their memories. _But that still left all the blood and broken teeth. Shit. I could heal him and then erase their memories. But I couldn't expend that amount of energy from a human form. Furry ears popping out of my head would most definitely make them scatter._ There was no way to utilize my powers without exposing myself to Keiko, and then it wasn't even worth it, because the point was to be there for Keiko.

Then I swore I heard Yusuke's laugh, and I followed the sound to the sky above. I stared, and I still felt his presence. _His ghost shouldn't still be hanging around. What is spirit world up to?_ I turned back to Keiko, and I gave her a reassuring smile. Trying to convey that she was worth it. I knelt down to Iwamoto and Akashi who was holding him.

"I am going to make sure you are expelled!" Akashi spouted his venom.

"Go ahead, you sadistic piece of shit…" His jaw went slack. I am sure Iwamoto's would have too if it still functioned. "He deserved that punch. And frankly you deserve one too. **Nobody** insults Yusuke or Keiko like that and gets away with it." I turned my head down to Iwamoto. "I hope you have a good dentist." I smiled at him, and stood.

Turning back to Keiko, she did something else to surprise me. She hugged me again, whispering in my ear, "Thank you Tsuki…I know you did that because I wanted to, and you didn't want me to be the one to get expelled, my family couldn't afford another sch-"

I cut her off by holding her at arm's length so I could make eye contact. "Keiko, you are my best friend, and Yusuke was my friend too. I can find another school nearby. You know how resourceful I can be." I winked at her, trying to cheer her up, and it seemed to work. I took her hand and walked back to her parents. If they heard what I said or didn't approve of my actions they never mentioned it. Her father gave me a light smile and a nod in silent thanks, and that was it. I escorted them home.

I made sure Keiko was safe in her bed, still feeling the eerie presence of Yusuke, and I went home. I maintained my Tsuki costume just in case Yusuke or his Spirit guide were keeping an eye on me. I walked into the dojo, and saw Hiro playing some fighting game. He looked up, probably seeing the blood on my fist and the fact I was still pretending to be Tsuki. "Are you gonna fill me in on what happened?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just need a minute." I spoke aloud, sitting beside him on the couch, and setting up a mental link so we could speak in private.

"Hiro. Continue as though we were silently sitting on the couch."

"Are we being watched?" He asked. Continuing to make combos on his game.

"Maybe, but not in a malicious way... Yusuke died today. But I still feel his ghost hanging around his wake, and around Keiko, even though he should have gone to the spirit world hours ago."

"You think spirit world is up to something with him?"

"I think so…and if they are, since I am one of his closest friends, they might be watching me. So I am Tsuki until further notice. If you need to talk to Luna. Do it telepathically.

"Gotcha. Loving grandpa routine."

I severed the telepathic connection and spoke aloud. "Yusuke died today. And those teachers who were always giving him trouble were trash talking him at his own wake…Keiko was going to punch them, and I didn't want her getting expelled so I did it."

"I am so sorry to hear that Tsuki, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just expect that call. Do you know any other schools nearby?"

"I hear Meiou is good, and pretty close. Expensive, but good."

"We should have the money. I just don't want to be too far from my friends"

I felt Hiro restart the telepathic connection, "I know, you need to stay close to Keiko. And if it helps, I am considered a pretty powerful and well known psychic to spirit world. So if you were to be familiar with it already, it wouldn't be a stretch."

"Really? They think you are just a psychic?"

"Yeah, I was a known psychic before the change. I told them I was able to extend my life, and hide my energy through secret spirit energy techniques. The psychic Genkai backed me up, still not entirely sure why, she knows spirit energy doesn't really work like that, no matter how good you are with it. But she lied for me. I have to thank her one of these days."

"Do you work for spirit world?"

"They ask me to consult on some cases every now and then. They know I don't appreciate intrusion. I keep my personal life very private even from them, which is a good thing for you. Considering it would be very suspicious to suddenly have a granddaughter."

"Hiro, you are full of surprises. I am glad I didn't let you die."

"Me too. Thank you for that… if you want to set up your knowledge, I would suggest asking me about feeling Yusuke, and ask why he hasn't moved on yet." He severed the connection, and then spoke aloud. "You must be exhausted. You should be getting to sleep."

"Grandpa?" I asked, and he turned to look at me. "I felt Yusuke's presence at the wake. Shouldn't he have moved on to spirit world by now?" He looked at me surprised. _He really was a good actor._

"Yeah. He should have. Maybe they have bigger plans for him."

"Have you heard anything?"

"They haven't spoken to me in a while, and even if they had, they wouldn't tell me anyway… Go on to bed dear. Maybe he will speak to you in your dreams."

"Alright. Goodnight. And Thank you…for everything." I stood from the couch and went upstairs to curl into my bed for the first time since I bought it. It was too soft. I only needed to sleep for maybe an hour a day, and I did it on the ground. But that is too suspicious. _I hate sleeping. It's wasting time in memories and fake circumstance. I hope for Yusuke's sake he doesn't come talk to me while I am in a bad memory._

* * *

~~NOTES~~~

The plot begins! *maniacal laughter* But, yeah. Always hated Keiko's two best friends. All they did was hate Yusuke. That's no way for girlfrann's to be. So I fixed it. Although, having two best friends with authority issues didn't really seem to affect Keiko in the most 'proper' way did it? Oh well. More fun this way. I like my Keiko's a little sassy.


	4. Sense of Morals

~~NOTES~~~

Hey ya'll! Sorry it's Monday. Getting ready for my only vacation of the year and its cray cray. The next chapter will probably be up on the next Monday as well, because we will be getting back late Sunday.

* * *

" _Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right."-Isaac Asimov_

 **Yusuke**

As I cheered, looking down at the two people who make my life hell, being terrified of a shorty like Tsuki, I saw Keiko smile at the aftermath. _Seems like she is okay with violence for the right reasons._ As I was thinking of how proud I was, I saw Tsuki look up. _Right at me._ But it looked like she was looking through me. How can that be?

After the trip with Botan to the spirit world to get my magic golden egg, and a trip into Keiko's dream, I decided to ask.

"Hey Botan? Can they see us?"

"No! Of course not! But the ones with exceptional awareness can sometimes feel us. Why do you ask?"

"At the wake, Keiko's best friend Tsuki looked right at me, like she could see me." Botan made a face, flipping through her notebook.

"Tsuki…Hamagi?" She squinted at the page. "Hamagi? Is she related to a Hiro Hamagi?"

"Yeah, he's her grandpa. Why? You know him?"

"Oh Yusuke! This is great news! We should get to her right away!" Botan exclaimed and bolted off on her damn oar towards Tsuki's place. _But how does she know Tsuki's grandpa?_

We watched through the window as we listened to them talk. She told him about the fight and the expulsion and that she could switch to that preppy private school nearby, and then she said something that even caught Botan off guard.

"Grandpa? I felt Yusuke's presence at the wake. Shouldn't he have moved on to spirit world by now?" I saw excitement spread across Botan's face.

"Yeah. He should have. Maybe they have bigger plans for him."

"Have you heard anything?"

"They haven't spoken to me in a while, and even if they had, they wouldn't tell me anyway… Go on to bed dear. Maybe he will speak to you in your dreams."

"Alright. Goodnight. And Thank you…for everything." We watched as Tsuki headed up the stairs, then Botan turned to me,

"Oh Yusuke, this is wonderful news!"

"Would you calm down and tell me what the hell is going on? Why did she know about spirit world?!"

"Hiro Hamagi is a powerful psychic. He knows about the supernatural, and sometimes he helps spirit world with things here on earth! And that means Tsuki knows too!"

"Why is this important for me, though?"

"Keiko didn't believe you, Yusuke. Tsuki will, because she already knows that ghosts are real! Now go up there, and tell her to make sure Keiko believes!"

I flew through the walls, and stood at Tsuki's bedside. I had never been in her room before. It seemed too simple. Even for her. I looked down at her, and I could see she was dreaming. I looked into her dream.

It was a big open field, and from the looks of it, a recent battle ground, there were dead soldiers everywhere. _This seems more like a dream I would have._ Away from me, I saw a man lying in the grass, looking up at the sky. He was wearing a samurai outfit, but his armor laid beside him. A woman approached from behind him, she was wearing a simple kimono, _I wonder what she is doing on a battlefield._ She sat down beside him, and looked down at his smiling face. Then the man spoke,

"It is impolite to stare, you know."

When the woman spoke back, it sounded like Tsuki's voice, but somehow older, but also younger at the same time. I couldn't explain it. "It is also impolite to smile like that surrounded by so many lost souls."

"They may be dead. But I am not…" He opened his eyes. Looking up at the sky. "I lived, so that I could look at that beautiful sky one more time." The woman looked up, and so did I, looking at the clear blue sky and the fluffy white clouds, _I don't think I have ever seen a sky that blue. Even in the movies._ The woman turned back to the man and smiled. She pushed a dead body out of the way and laid down beside him.

"That's a beautiful way of looking at something so inherently ugly." She replied. _Yeah, that is definitely Tsuki's voice._ She closed her eyes, and I stepped over to the woman,

"Tsuki?" I spoke softly, and as she opened her eyes I watched the rest of the scene fade into black. I turned my gaze back to the woman…no.. Tsuki. It was definitely Tsuki now. She glanced beside her, where the man was lying and then back up to me.

"That was a weird dream" She laughed. "Yusuke, I am so glad to see you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, other than being dead of course…oh that reminds me. You seem to already sort of know what is going on, but I need to tell you." She looked at me expectantly, "I am coming back to life, so you have to make sure Keiko stops the funeral before they burn me, or I won't have a body to come back to… I went to her first, but I don't think she believed me."

"Of course I will Yusuke…wait, spirit world is just giving you your life back?"

"Yeah, they said they didn't expect me to die and didn't have a place for me. I have to go through some sort of ordeal though. But I have to make sure I still have a body once I go through that."

"I am just surprised spirit world is doing something nice for someone for once….I am glad it is for you. Keiko needs you, you know."

"She needs you too, Tsuki." She smiled, and I knew I was glad she was around to take care of Keiko when I couldn't. "Get some sleep. I have ordeal stuff to deal with." I stepped out of her dream, and flew back out the window. Botan was waiting for me.

"Well, how did it go?" She asked hurriedly.

"She is gonna convince Keiko to protect my body, and I learned she has even weirder dreams than I do…She also doesn't seem to like spirit world very much."

Botan frowned, "I wonder why?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe because her parents are dead."

"We don't have much information on Hiro's family. He intentionally hid his life from us."

"I thought you said he helps you?!"

"He does…Reluctantly…He is a very private man, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Not really my problem why she hates you." I laughed at Botan's upset face,

"I don't want her to hate me!" Botan exclaimed as we disappeared into the night.

* * *

 **Luna**

I woke myself up shortly after Yusuke left, figuring he wouldn't hang around after that. I put my head in my hands, wondering how much of my memory he saw. I hope he believed it was just a dream… not one of the most important days of my life. Usually I dream of his death, not his life. This was a pleasant change of pace.

I find myself lonely. I always do after thinking of Geralt. But I don't want to bother anyone just because I hate to be alone after I dream about by dead boyfriend… You'd think after six hundred years, it wouldn't hurt so much. I dig my nails into my palms, trying to forget, when I feel the familiar sensation of someone in my head.

"Luna, are you alright?" _Kuro. Always there when I need him whether I want him to or not._

"Yeah. It's just. Things in my life here got really complicated really quick. How are things in Demon World?"

"Not great. Every time I find a lead they freeze up and stop talking. Like they are more scared of talking than not talking…and you know how _persuasive_ I can be…" He pauses, "If they are more scared of this guy finding out they talked than they are of slowly being tortured until they die, then we have a problem."

"This guy is powerful, whether it's Yomi or not." I sigh. "Just be careful Kuro. It probably won't be too long before he comes after you. Especially if he learns what you are, and how much your life is worth..."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I am good at staying alive."

"You remember how we met, right?"

I felt him laugh, "That was a one-time thing. I got my flirting with death out of the way."

"Flirting? That was way more than flirting! Your blood was pouring out of bamboo shoots like a damn fountain!"

"Okay, so, engaged to death? Until you showed up, you homewrecker, you." I smile, he never fails to make me laugh, even if he is talking about his brush with death. "You should be worrying about that girl you are babysitting. How is she? Still dating demon-bait?"

"Well, they aren't dating, because one: they won't admit their feelings. And Two: He died today."

"Wait, what?" I could feel his surprise, and it made me smile.

"He jumped in front of a car to save a kid's life… but for some reason spirit world is going to bring him back, so I am stuck pretending to be normal, because his ghost and who-knows-how-many spirit guides are floating around, maybe watching me."

"Holy shit, Luna…How do you get yourself into these situations?"

"Luck I guess."

"Do you want me to talk to you while you pretend to sleep?" He asked me, and his sincerity warmed my frigid heart. I laid down in the bed, curling up again, looking at the clock that tells me I shouldn't wake up for at least five more hours. I close my eyes.

"What are you doing? Are you busy?"

"Nah. On the lookout for information. Right now I am a pretty, airheaded bartender. I am somewhere in Ganderra. Fuck know's where... So unless I hear something that gives me a lead, I am pouring drinks and staring at my own tits."

I bite my lip to hold in my laughter, "Don't make me laugh like that, I am pretending to sleep, remember?"

"Speaking of tits, don't you ever feel like you are top heavy? I feel… disproportionate."

"You get used to it, and I probably wear much more efficient clothing that you are wearing."

"If my nipples aren't almost out, nobody gives information…or tips. A girl's gotta eat you know?" I feel the blood in my mouth as I try to stifle my laughter. "A fire demon in the corner is giving me the sexy eyes, if I am in a girl's body, and I fuck him, is it still gay?"

I let a giggle slip out, "For him, no, for you, yes."

"Damn. If I am the girl, it would be much easier to get away with no kissing and still get laid."

"You could just, you know, not fuck people."

"Easy for you to say, Miss four thousand year old virgin. Nobody has the fucking iron hormones that you do."

"It's not my fault that the only man I ever loved hated himself for loving a demon." I regretted the words as soon as I thought them. I could tell he was uncomfortable from the silence.

"You deserved better than how he treated you Luella… You deserve somebody who will _really_ love you. Someone who will _touch_ you." I knew how serious he was from him using my true name. He was never serious. "You need both."

"I could say the same for you Kuronue… Let your feelings get involved in your rampant sex parties." I felt him laugh.

"Hard to do that when everyone you meet wants to kill you, and everyone you knew before thinks you are dead."

"Trust me…I know."

"What a pair we are…" I could feel the internal smile that meant he was going to think something highly inappropriate. "How does it feel that the only people you have ever kissed are the elder of your tribe, your best friend, and your fake grandpa?"

"I hate you sometimes, Kuro."

"You can't bullshit me when I am in your head. I know you love me. And trust that I am honored to be part of such an exclusive club…shit, some asshole just ordered a mix drink. Gotta focus."

"Just stab him with a broken bottle. Set the example that mix drinks aren't on the menu." I felt the smile, and then the silence of him thinking about his own thing.

"Alright, back. I let a nip slip, and he bought me a drink. I love being a girl."

"Just make sure you don't get drugged. I'd hate for a big strong man like yourself to get date-raped on his first female experience…Oh, and I have to switch schools, because I punched a motherfucker out at my friend's wake."

"If it was at the wake, why do you have to switch schools?"

"He was a teacher, and he is going to have me expelled."

"Oh shit, I am so proud. Was he the teacher who was always talkin' shit about demon-bait?"

"Yep. I dislocated his jaw, and shattered some teeth."

"Good job! Sounds like something I would have done that my partner would have yelled at me for."

I feel his sadness, and I hate that he still can't bring himself to say his name. "Yeah probably. We are both fucking impulsive idiots. Someone probably shoulda yelled at me. Keiko was going to hit him for insulting Yusuke, but I grabbed her fist. Then he insulted Keiko, and I snapped."

"Dude should be thankful he isn't dead. You could have easily just punched his entire head off."

I laughed internally, "You shouldn't say 'dude'. It's weird."

"So, are you excited for the new school? Maybe you can find yourself a dreamboat to eyefuck and pass the time."

"In all my four thousand years, never has the term dreamboat been an acceptable term for a handsome man."

"I'm not a dreamboat?"

"No."

"Am I a handsome man, then?"

"We have been in each other's heads for three hundred years now. You are basically a sexless scarecrow with wings."

"Ouch."

"You were handsome before. If that helps."

"It does. Thank you. But you still wound me…"

"Oh, just go fuck the fire demon."

"But he only wants me for my tits, not my charming wit and lovable personality."

"Did you choose that body for her charming wit, or lovable personality?"

"No, I chose it for the tits. I think I saw her in a human porno, and I just added ears and a tail like a slutty demon Halloween costume."

"I rest my case…"

* * *

We spoke until Kuro heard something interesting, and not long after that, it was the morning anyway. Right at six A.M. as if on a schedule, the phone rang. I heard Hiro pick it up as I grabbed the clothes and towels I needed for a shower. Moments later I heard him yell across the dojo,

"You're expelled!"

"Great!" I stepped out of my room and towards the bathroom, "I was taking the day off anyway to make sure Yusuke doesn't get cremated so he can come back to life!"

"Sounds great, honey!" Hiro yelled back, I could almost taste the sarcasm.

* * *

I went by Keiko's early so I could walk with her to school, but when I got there, her parents said she had gone to see Atsuko before school. _Maybe she did believe her dream._ I ran to Atsuko's apartment and caught Keiko on her way out, "Tsuki!" She yelled, and threw herself to hug me again. When she pulled away, she looked me over. "You aren't wearing your uniform. Did you really get expelled?!"

I nodded, and we began walking in the direction of Sarayashiki. "Yeah, but it was worth it. I can handle it…" I paused, trying to figure out the best way to bring it up. I decided on bluntness. "So…Keiko…Did you have a dream about Yusuke last night?" She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me. She nodded, with hope in her eyes. "About him coming back to life?" She nodded more vigorously, tears springing to her eyes. "It's kind of weird and confusing, but it's true. Ghosts are real, and Yusuke is one of them. But not for long, because he is passing some sort of test to come back." She stared at me for a moment before lunging in for another hug. _Jesus Christ, she likes to hug._

"I thought I was crazy! I asked Atsuko if she had a dream, and she said she did, and I had hope, but it wasn't the same dream, so I thought I was crazy, because he felt so real!"

"He was real, he's coming back." I smiled, petting her hair.

"We have to go tell Atsuko!" She let go, and started to run back the way we came.

"Woah there! It can wait until after school. You have to be there on time. Iwamoto and Akashi are gonna be looking for any excuse they can find to expel you too." Her face fell a bit, but she nodded.

"You are right. The funeral isn't until tomorrow. And I am sure Yusuke won't be able to pass his test before school ends."

"Has he ever even passed a test at all?" I joked with her, and she smiles.

"No, but he has never tried either."

"Well, he sure as shit better try on this one!" I yell, looking around at the sky as we walk.

"Is he here? Can you see him?"

"I can't see him. I felt him cheering for us at the wake. That is when I knew something was up. He is probably floating around somewhere keeping an eye on you."

"That's so sweet." She sighed.

"Yeah, he is sorta great like that." I smirk.

* * *

When we got to school, she headed into class early, I begin to look for Kuwabara. I see his off-color uniform across the school yard and head over to him.

"Hey Kuwabara, I need to talk to you for a minute." He turned from his friends to look at me, and met me part way.

"Hey, what's up, aren't you Urameshi's friend?"

"Yeah, that is sort of why I am here."

"Don't you go here?"

"Not anymore. I am sure you will hear all about it once school starts. But listen. I saw you at the wake. I know you care about Yusuke too." I saw him start to open his mouth in protest, so I held up a finger, and gave him a stern look, "Don't even try to bullshit me." He closed his mouth. "You know Keiko?" He nods. "Well, Yusuke and I are her best friends, then Yusuke goes and gets himself splattered on a windshield, and I get expelled for punching that piece of shit Iwamoto." His mouth drops at hearing what I did, I guess he really hasn't gotten hit by the gossip train yet. "Now she is alone. You need to be her friend here. Her old friends are toxic bitches who try to make her feel bad for caring about Yusuke. I don't like that."

"I don't either." He replies.

"So you'll be her friend while I can't be here?" He nods, and then looks behind me. I turn to see Mr. Akashi.

"Ms. Hamagi! You were expelled, you are no longer permitted on school grounds!"

I turn back to Kuwabara, "You promise?" He nods.

"Ms. Hamagi!"

I turn back to Akashi, who has almost made it to me, "Oh fuck off! I am leaving!"

The anger on his face was nothing less than beautiful. " **Ms. Hamagi!** " he exclaims, but I just throw up twin middle fingers over my shoulders as I head out the school gates.

I know I can't stay and see if Kuwabara does what I ask, I'll just have to trust that he does. I walk back home at a normal pace. _This whole, pretend to be normal in case a ghost is watching, thing is really starting to piss me off._

When I arrive back at the Dojo, I find Hiro teaching a small class of young adult males, appearing to be in their late teens, what appears to be Taekwondo. He makes eye contact with me, "Take care of what you needed?" I nod, "Good. Put on your gui, and show these guys why they need to take every opponent seriously."

* * *

Just as I had thrown the last student to the ground for the fifth time, I looked up at the clock to see it was soon going to be time to go meet Keiko after school. I bowed out, and went upstairs to shower and change clothes. I left the dojo, and was waiting for her when she headed through the school gates. She smiled when she saw me, and that made me happy.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked her, and she smiled,

"It was better than I thought it was going to be. Yusuke's friend Kuwabara and his friends didn't let me be alone all day. They were really nice, and funny, and I liked being around them."

"That is great Keiko! I am glad you are making friends. I was really worried about leaving…"

"I'm fine, Tsuki. And when Yusuke gets back, I will be more than fine, and after school, you and I will have twice as much to talk about, because we will have had totally different school days." _Somehow she finds the bright side of everything._

When we reached Yusuke's apartment, Keiko knocked on the door, and Atsuko opened almost immediately. "Atsuko, I think Yusuke might be coming back!"

"No he is!" Atsuko replied, "I opened his casket to smack him one more time for leaving me, and he was warm, and his cheeks were slightly pink!" They both made a noise somewhere between a squeal and a sob and hugged each other, I watched for a moment, trying to figure out how to get away, when Atsuko pulled me into the hug as well.

* * *

When I arrived back at the Dojo, I found Hiro in the kitchen again, frying up potstickers, and I sat quietly at the table at the kitchen, I reached out to his mind, "Do you want to go to Meiou tomorrow to enroll me in classes? I called yesterday to set up an appointment to meet. I made the appointment to meet with you first, but if you don't want to go, I can pretend to be you, and go as Tsuki the next day to finish up the paperwork." He nodded, and broke the connection.

"We have an appointment to enroll you in Meiou tomorrow. Don't be late." He extended the sizzling pan to me, "Want a potsticker?" I smiled, and used my chopsticks to put a few on my plate.


	5. Perfect Strangers

~~NOTES~~~

Hey guys! I know, It's a bit late. I had a test today that I didn't start studying for until 8am this morning, because apparently I am a glutton for punishment. Also, a warning: in this chapter I introduce classes, and I am aware that in Japan the school system works very differently than in the U.S. For this story, I am using americanized schooldays, because it is convenient and easy and I want to. And Meiou is a private school, so its not _that_ ludicrous that it could have a western schooling style, right? I dunno. I didn't want to bury myself in research about the japanese education system. Ain't nobody got time fo that. (at least not me)

* * *

*" _We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken." -Fyodor Dostoyevsky*_

The meeting went exceptionally well. I took the comprehensive test they give all their students to mark their progress, (everyone else took it yesterday). They didn't really want to accept me, but we met with the dean directly, and _assured_ him that I was a good addition to the school. While the three of us were speaking, the dean ran my test through the grading machine so he could see which classes I should be in.

He said that I had nearly perfect scores, even on the parts that were supposed to be for the upper grades of the high school students. He seemed shocked, hell, even I was shocked. I knew it was easy, but I didn't think it was _that_ easy. He recommended I take the advanced courses for the grade above me, putting me in Meiou High, rather than its junior high counterpart. _Great, got expelled and skipped a grade. Yippee for me._

I continued messing around in his head for a while, like ingraining a deep _need_ to never expel me for any reason, and _requesting_ a full ride scholarship, _asking_ for several free uniforms _,_ And _convinced_ him that I needed the first period free. _For this guy to supposedly be the smartest guy in the smartest school, he had a surprisingly weak mind. I barely even had to knock, it's like he just let me in. Barely any energy wasted at all. Wonderful._ The meeting barely lasted into the first school period, and he gave me my course schedule and suggested I get to class. I went into the bathroom and changed into my new uniform. I gave my clothes and the spare uniforms to Hiro to take back home.

I was exceptionally glad that school ended around a half an hour earlier here than Sarayashiki. My free period meant that it would begin half an hour later too, allowing me to walk with Keiko to and from school… Perfect. I roamed the halls, learning my way around before I had to be in class in fifteen minutes. I was wondering past the gymnasium, looking at room numbers, making sure I knew where I was going and when I needed to be there, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Excuse me, Miss, are you lost?" The voice seemed to echo through the empty hallway, and damn if that wasn't an alluring voice. I turn around, praying the boy's face will live up to his voice. _Holy fuck._ He surpassed my wildest hopes. He had long red hair framing his face. Gorgeous, expressive green eyes, and I swear he smelled like roses; not like the overused human roses, but the scary beautiful ones in demon world, a scent I hadn't thought about in millenia. He smiled softly and I realized I had been staring without answering for far longer than was socially acceptable.

I began to walk towards him as I answered, so I wouldn't have to hear my own voice echo down the hall, "No not lost. I just transferred here. Trying to learn where my classes are before I start in…" I look at the pocket watch attached to my bookbag, "seven minutes."

"May I see your schedule? Maybe I can help?" He extended his hand towards me, and I noticed his hands looked very soft. I stepped closer to him to hand him my schedule, and the closer I got, the stronger his scent became until it felt like it was surrounding me. It was very strange. I have never met a human whose scent reminded me of anything in demon world, it was very disorienting, and his beautiful eyes looking down at me didn't help. They looked kind, but less like real kindness, and more like he was trying to convince me he was kind. _Curiouser and curiouser._ "These are advanced classes, I have most of them with you. Except the mathematics, you are higher than me there…I see you have first period free, how did you get the dean to agree to that? I had to practically beg to get his period free to work on projects for the botany club."

"Oh I have a lot of things do before school, I explained that to the dean and he understood…I can be quite persuasive." He handed my schedule back to me, and our fingers touched for a brief moment, I felt the energy bridge from the contact, but it felt _different._ And for a second, from the look in his eyes, I thought he felt it too. _But that can't be right. Humans aren't sensitive to energy saps. They won't realize they are affected until they are dead._ "And about the classes, I really wouldn't know. I tried to enroll in the junior high, he had me take the test you all took yesterday, and after he looked at my scores he said I needed to be a grade higher, and in advanced classes. I wasn't complaining" I laughed and he smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"We have the next class together, would you like me to walk there with you?"

"Sure that sounds good. Thank you." We began walking, and thankfully, he let me set the pace, he was much taller than me, and therefore his legs were much longer than mine.

He broke the silence rather quickly, "How rude of me, I never asked for your name? I am Shuichi Minamino."

I turned to face him, "Tsuki Hamagi. It's nice to meet you, Minamino"

"Shuichi, please, Ms. Hamagi."

"Then it's Tsuki to you." I smiled. _Oh my God, am I actually flirting? Jesus, what has happened to me? Flirting with what is basically a child._

"Enrolling in Meiou and skipping a grade must mean you are quite the overachiever." He spoke softly, and from the tone of his voice, I could hear he wanted me to take it as a compliment, even though he personally didn't consider it one.

"Not really. I only enrolled here because it was the closest to my old school, and I didn't want to be far from my friends and my home. I had to enroll somewhere."

I saw his brows furrow a bit in confusion, "Why is that?"

 _Well, here we go. May as well be truthful, I don't have to convince him I am anything. Keiko isn't here, and never will be._ "I was permanently expelled." I saw his brows furrow deeper, a silent 'why'.

"I punched a teacher and broke his jaw." I saw his jaw go slack and then immediately clenched. It was very subtle. Most wouldn't have noticed it, but it was obvious this wasn't where he saw this conversation going. "It wasn't during school, and he insulted my friend on a personal level… I don't take kindly to that sort of thing, regardless of status."

We had reached the door to the classroom, and just before we went inside, he returned his gaze to me, but somehow it was different. His expression seemed like less of a mask, "It sounds like he deserved it." I smiled as I walked deeper into the classroom, waiting for everyone to sit, so I could take a seat that wasn't already taken. It was a few seats behind Shuichi's seat. He was taking notes, and being a model student. I was trying to take notes but was otherwise distracted by staring at his back. I couldn't seem to shake the feeling we have met before. I couldn't figure out why he smelled so strongly of a place he could never have been.

* * *

I was sitting in the cafeteria at lunchtime alone near the back, reading some cheap novel I found in the dojo, when an official of the school came out and began to staple papers to the bulletin board. From the way the majority of the student body rose to go look at it, it must have been important.

"Minamino isn't number one!" I heard a voice ring out, followed by incoherent muttering.

"And neither is Kaito!" The muttering intensifies,

I look up just in time to see a boy with rather fuzzy black hair and glasses speak over the crowd, obviously upset, "Then who is?"

A person near the papers read the name, "Tsuki Hamagi…Who is that?" People began to look around, and Shuichi, who wasn't far from me but seated facing me, looked up from his own book to look straight at me and smirk. The people seemed to follow his gaze, because suddenly, every person in the room was staring at me. I felt like a human that had wandered into demon world; like I was about to be eaten alive in this sharkpit of nerds.

"The new girl?" a female voice cut the silence.

"Wait, a _girl?"_ a male voice immediately followed. I glanced back at Shuichi, who was smart enough to have his back to the crowd, He was still making eye contact with me, and chuckling to himself.

On that note, I decided to take the easy way out and returned to my book, hoping that if I didn't pay attention to them they would forget about me. I stared into the words, not really reading, but I felt my bubble of solitude being invaded, and within seconds I was surrounded, with no way out.

A pretty girl with dark brown pigtails got exceptionally close to my face. So close I couldn't just pretend she wasn't there. When I made eye contact she spoke. "This is your first day, how did you even take the test?"

I looked at all the people around me, Shuichi was watching with mild amusement. "I took it this morning when I enrolled."

I tried to look back to my book but was interrupted by a follow up question. "How did you even know what was on the test?"

I squinted at the girl, I could tell she was used to getting her way, "I didn't?"

"Then how did you study for it?" Her tone was terse. I didn't appreciate that from strangers.

"I didn't. I've never studied a day in my life." One hundred percent truth. All four thousand years of it. Never once have I _studied_ anything.

From the way they were looking at me, I would have thought I had yelled, "Megallica is a bunch of pussies!" at a Megallica concert. You could hear a pin drop in that cafeteria. Most people looked shocked, or disbelieving. Some even looked offended, and a few seemed angry. I glanced at Shuichi and saw that he had a hand covering his mouth, but from his eyes I could tell he was stifling a laugh.

 _May as well make the best of this._ I unwrapped a lollipop from my bag. I could hear the crinkle reverberating off the walls, and for once, I was glad for how loud the wrappers on these things were. It made this situation even more comical. I stood up from my seat, and slammed my book closed with one hand. The sound echoed through the silent crowd. I pointed my lollipop at the girl, "Well, I believe that is enough socializing for one day…my work here is done." I popped the lollipop in my mouth, grabbed my bag, and began to squeeze through the stunned crowd around me until I made it into the hallway.

I walked towards the library, before the sign on the door stopped me. **Please, no food or drink in the library.** _Damn, why must I respect the sanctity of signs?_ "You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me." I muttered to myself. I heard a chuckle behind me, and I turned around to see him again,

"I don't think there is anything you could have said that would have gotten a worse reaction from the mob."

"I could have said that only losers spend their lives studying for tests." I muttered, and he raised an eyebrow. Frankly I was surprised he wasn't offended by that one.

"Yeah, that would have been worse." He paused, looking me over. "Come with me, I know somewhere we can go… and I grabbed you a sandwich. I thought a lollipop, though perfect for making your point, isn't exactly a nutritious lunch." He handed me a small sandwich wrapped in clingwrap, and despite my better judgement, I followed him down the hall and outside. There was a small picnic table beside of a greenhouse.

"Botany club perks?" I asked as I sat down, and he sat down opposite me.

"Yeah something like that." He smiled again, and yet, it never reached his eyes; almost though. It was quite convincing.

"You know. You are pretty good at the whole fake smile thing. Most people fall for it, I assume?" He narrowed his eyes at me. "I take that as a yes…Well, listen up… Shuichi. I know all about wearing a mask to maintain appearances, I know how much of a pain that is, so when it's just us, you don't have to pretend to be Mr. Perfect Student, kindness-to-a-fault gentlemen. Just be who you want to be. If you want to say something, say it, if you don't I am happy in silence. And honestly…" I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table and my head in my hands. "I could not physically give fewer fucks how you study for tests." I smirk at him, and shockingly, he laughs; a real one this time.

"I don't think anyone has ever said anything like that to me."

"I am sure. Your act is pretty spot on. I will give credit where credit is due. But you can't bullshit a bullshitter."

"You have quite a plethora of profanity for a fourteen year old."

"And you have a cornucopia of vocabulary words for a fifteen year old." He smirked at me, and I unwrapped my sandwich and began to eat a bit. Figured it would appease him. "Even when I was a kid nobody ever treated me like one; or spoke to me like one…They said I had an old soul." _It's obviously not because I am an old grumpy demon who is so sick of this pretending shit._

He kept a straight face, "I have been told that too." He leaned in closer, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Please." I leaned in too, his face was probably 20 centimeters from mine, "I just love hot gossip."

"I have never studied either… I just tell them I do…"

I lean away in mock exasperation, "You filthy liar, you!"

"I just pay attention in class. I have never put in any effort beyond that."

"It seemed like you were their king in there…have you risen to your throne under false pretenses, king Minamino?"

"I never wanted to be looked up to, any more than you did, but for me, it was easier to lie. You did what I wish I could have done." He leaned back, continuing to eat his own food, "I have always been number one, and Kaito has always been right behind me, then the new girl comes in and takes us both over, and says she didn't even try? You just threw a wrench into their entire belief system… It was a joy to watch, really."

"Yeah, I saw you cracking the fuck up in there. Thanks for the backup, by the way."

He threw his hands up in faux surrender, "Appearances must remain intact. That is the prime directive."

"Why do they think you came after me?"

He smiled, a real one, and glanced into the distance. "Probably one of two things, either they think I was worried you were upset and went to comfort you, or they think I was jealous you bested me, and I am interrogating you for the truth about your study habits."

"And why did you really follow me?" I ask, wadding up the wrapper for my sandwich and tossing it into the nearby wastebin. "

"You are interesting to speak to… I can't predict what you will say next. And you made me genuinely laugh. Both are things I haven't encountered in a long time."

"And here, I just thought you thought I was pretty." I flipped my hair, like the girls do in the shampoo commercials, "A boy leading a girl outside for intelligent conversation? What a scandal!"

"Which is more important to you, sarcasm or oxygen?" His sly smile had an edge of danger, it was quite attractive.

"Sarcasm. Hands down. I'd rather be dead than boring." I looked down at my pocket watch, "It's almost time for the next class…Thank you for the sandwich, and for the company." I stood, straightening my uniform, and shaking out my hair.

I saw him watching me intently. Honestly, if it were anyone other than him, I would have been slightly uncomfortable. He spoke, still softly. "No, thank you. Let's do it again sometime?"

"Of course." I begin to walk away, but turned back. "Can I ask a weird question?" He nodded. "What cologne do you wear?" He furrowed his brow again, _He does that a lot._

"I don't wear any, why?"

"Oh you just smell nice. I guess it is just you." He looked confused, "It's a compliment, just go with it, dude." I laughed, as I returned to the building, heading towards my Advanced Calculus class.

* * *

 **Kurama**

I was sitting in my math class, thinking about that girl…Tsuki. She didn't behave like other girls. When I first saw her wandering around the halls, she looked bored. She looked like her mind was a thousand miles away, and when she looked at me, I could tell she thought I was attractive, she had the same tells as all the other girls. I was expecting the same routine as always, but I was pleasantly surprised. She talked to me like a person, not an object, and she didn't try to make herself seem more interesting, or omit facts to please me. She felt like she had no spirit energy to speak of, but when our fingers brushed I felt our energies arching with each other. I think most of it was hers, and I could feel it. So why couldn't I sense it? Could she possibly be a threat? She didn't seem to realize what I was, or if she did, she showed absolutely no sign of it.

I realized in the cafeteria she didn't seem to care what anyone thought about her. Every other girl her age would have buckled under the pressure those people put on her, or at the very least, made something up to make themselves seem normal. She faced it head on, even making a joke of the situation by drawing even more attention to herself. It was genius, and beautiful.

She was a pretty girl, this is true. But again, she wasn't like most girls. Most girls would wear makeup to their first day of school. Most girls would be too worried about the way their hair looks to simply shake it out after a meal. Most of my admirers would have swooned at my interest in her, but she simply shrugged it off with sarcasm. I think the thing that caught me most off guard was her complimenting the way I smelled. Not my hair, or my eyes, or any of the lines I get thrown all the time, but the way I smelled. It's not something humans normally comment on, not even something they care about. It makes it all the more frustrating that I have no idea what I smell like.

I would have continued in my thoughts, except a student from another class entered the room, garnering the attention of the teacher. The student spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt, but there is a situation in my class, and none of us quite know how to handle it."

The teacher placed her pointer on the desk. "What is the situation?"

"Well um, you know how Mr. Fujioka likes to embarrass the students who aren't paying attention by calling on them to come to the board and do a proof of a concept?" The teacher nodded, and I got the nagging feeling that my new acquaintance was somehow involved. "Well he pulled that on the new girl. The one who just transferred from a public middle school? And she actually accepted… She is already on the corollary for the fundamental theorem of calculus, and since we did this a few days ago in class, we know that she is going much faster than Mr. Fujioka did, and she doesn't have notes. She is just _doing_ it. Mr. Fujioka is fuming, but he knows he can't stop her without admitting he was at fault."

"Thank you. I will handle it." The teacher exited the room with the other student. And as usual, as soon as she stepped outside, the whole class broke out into whispers.

"That's the girl that pulled that stunt in the cafeteria earlier. I hope she gets in trouble."

"Why would she get in trouble? Technically she is just doing what was asked of her."

"I have seen the proof of that theorem, there is no way she could just do it from memory."

"She has to be cheating somehow, even Mr. Fujioka needed notes."

I laughed to myself hearing my classmates either defend or crucify her. She somehow managed to offend the entire class by her lack of studying, and flip the student-teacher dynamic on its head, all on her first day here. She really is something... _But what?_

* * *

In the next and final class of the day Foreign Literature, I was in the class with her and many of the same students who were in the last class with me; The one that had to be interrupted to take care of her 'situation'. She was in the seat directly in front of me. Before class started, she simply sat there in silence, reading the book she was reading earlier. I know she could hear everyone whispering about her, because I could see her reactions to their comments. She would smile and laugh, or lightly shake her head, but never said a word or removed her eyes from her book.

When class began, I watched her. She put her book away, and honestly, it seemed like she wasn't paying attention. She seemed so distant. I watched her hand as she scribbled in her notebook. They seemed like incoherent markings at first. But whenever the teacher switched the author he was discussing, her writing would change. That's when I recognized that when we were discussing Tolstoy she was writing in Russian. Notes on Nietzsche were in German. Hawthorne in English. She was writing her notes on the literature in the native language of the piece. She had written at least five different languages in her notebook, I only recognized three of them. I could only speak English and Japanese. The fact that she was listening in Japanese, and writing in these languages, meant she was at least proficient in all these languages, if not fluent.

If she was this talented, what was she doing at this school? I heard from the gossip around me that her old school was Sarayashiki, which is considered under-performing on almost every survey. Then I remembered her words earlier. _Only losers waste their time studying for tests._ She doesn't study for tests…she just likes to learn. She likes to read. She likes to be her own person despite the people around her.

She really was an interesting human.

* * *

When class was over I watched her exit the room so swiftly I barely registered it was her. I watched her exit the school grounds, and I was curious where she was off to in such a hurry. I followed her from afar, staying in the trees, hidden from her and from prying eyes. I had to determine if she were a threat to me or not. I needed more information before I could determine how to approach the situation.

I watched her stop at the gates of her old school, she leaned up against the wall, waiting. When the bell rang, I saw all the students file out of the building. Another girl approached her and I saw both of their faces brighten when they saw each other. _Ah, friendship._ I could barely hear their words, but I could hear them well enough to follow from watching their lips.

"Today was your first day of school, right? How was it? Did you meet any cute boys?" The other girl asked, and then giggled.

"Oh Keiko, you know the only man I am interested in is Lord Pierre and his pulsating member." Tsuki replied, holding her book up and pointing at the cover.

"It doesn't really say that right? I think that is the worst one I have ever heard."

"I can't make this shit up. Page 127." Tsuki handed the other girl the book, and they opened to what was probably page 127. I didn't know what to think about the fact she had spent this whole day reading a pornographic novel in school.

"Oh my God. It really says that." The two of them began to walk, and I continued to follow, I needed something to take my mind off of my mother and the heist until it was done anyway. "You never said how school was."

"I don't think you really want to know."

"Now I have to know!" She laughed.

"Well, first I managed to alienate my entire class by admitting I beat their top students on a test without studying."

"In their defense it is frustrating how you always do better than me without even trying."

"Then I did a three part university-level proof on the board to show a teacher I was not to be fucked with."

"You didn't! Did you pick the proof? Or did he?"

"He did, but I got lucky, and it was a simple one, and I read it in a textbook once, so I didn't even have to think about it, I could just copy it from my memory. So to rub salt in the wound I was giving fun-facts on parts of the proof, like 'this part was proved by Reimann in 1858' You should have seen his face Keiko, he wanted to hit me even more than Mr. Akashi did."

"What did he do?"

"Another teacher came and got him. The other students gave me applause as I sat back down. Then after a while he came back in and continued where he left off. He wouldn't look at me though… at least it is a math class, and he can't take points for opinions…But when I think of all the students who he belittled with that tactic, it is so worth it. You know he will never do it again. I got him back at his own game."

"Really, though, no boys?" I raised an eyebrow, expecting to hear the familiar squealing about my hair.

"I did meet one person I liked. He was interesting…"

"And cute?"

"Very, but that part doesn't matter."

"You are going to tell me what he smelled like, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Because, Tsuki, ever since I really got to know you, you have been really open about what things smell like to you, and I can tell it means a lot to you, and it's really one of the most interesting thing about you, because it's not something most people notice."

"Okay well. This will probably a long one, but when I was young my mother took me to a field of roses. But these weren't your normal florist, red roses paired with baby's breath to apologize to your girlfriend, roses. These were rare roses. They were more thorn than bloom, and I remember my legs getting scratched to hell as we walked through that field. And they weren't red either. They were almost a shimmery purple, like if you shined a flashlight through a grape and onto some tinfoil. There was one perfect bloom, deep in the thorns, and my mother reached in there and grabbed it. She put it in my hair. I remember the cuts on her arm, and I will probably always associate the scent of those roses with the scent of blood…I kept that flower in my hair until it wilted. I felt beautiful, and I felt loved, and I felt like the smell of that rose remained in my hair for days even after the rose was gone. All those roses are gone now. They were a rare mutation, and I think they couldn't reproduce or something…I don't really know… But I hadn't thought of that day or those roses for so long, I had never smelt them before or since. Not until today."

I was listening to her story, and the flowers she described seemed familiar, but nothing like that exists now, but I couldn't help but feel that the story was symbolic, somehow. It can't be coincidence. Maybe her spirit energy has something to do with her sense of smell?

"The boy smelled like those roses?"

"Yeah. Not exactly, but close enough you know? Close enough to trigger the memory, but different enough to be new and exciting…and he was the only person who even bothered to ask for my name."

"Nobody else?"

"No. Not even the teachers. Everyone else just referred to me as the new girl. He was the only one who treated me like a person."

I stopped listening. Shocked at hearing my own thoughts reflected in her words. I retreated home, sure that I had intruded into her life enough. And I wanted to see my mother. I wondered if she has a special smell that I never acknowledged before.

* * *

~~NOTES~~~

Fun fact, though foxes and wolves are very similar, foxes hunt alone and mostly by sound, wolves hunt in packs, and primarily by smell.


	6. Shrill Tinsel Gaiety

_~~NOTES~~~_

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This chapter is long, but chapter 7 is shorter than I would like my chapters to be, but 8 is the longest yet. So, once again, I am posting a pair of chapters so 7 isn't a short disappointment. Hope you like it! Expect 7 Monday maybe? Or Sunday if I get impatient or if someone asks for it. Thank you all for your views and reviews! I know I don't reply (Cause I am awkward and don't know what to say) but I read them all, and I love them, and I go into a little excited happy dance when I get a notification on my phone that someone left a review. Ya'll da bomb.

* * *

 _*_ " _God, but life is loneliness, despite all the opiates, despite the shrill tinsel gaiety of "parties" with no purpose, despite the false grinning faces we all wear. And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter - they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long. Yes, there is joy, fulfillment and companionship - but the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and overpowering."_ ― _Sylvia Plath*_

The next morning I walked Keiko to school. She was bitching about Mr. Akashi apparently blackmailing Kuwabara into taking beatings instead of handing them out, while he studies for a big test. Keiko said she was helping with the studying part. I was willing to help with the fighting part if I needed to. I will get more info after school today.

I walk in around halfway through the first period. I know everyone else is in class, so I take my time, still getting a feel on how the halls are set up, and where everything of importance is located. I passed by Shuichi who was sitting in the hall, reading. He must have finished with his Botany Club duties. He looked up to me, and I waved at him. Continuing down the hall, I went into the library, and looked at the books I would like to read while I waited for the bell to ring.

When it did, and I went to class, I unwrapped another Lollipop. After yesterday, I picked up some from the store, since it was now part of my image, and perhaps the oral fixation could keep me from opening my big mouth when I don't have to.

I was reading another cheap paperback, this one seemed to be a pornographic Hamlet rip off…I always thought Shakespeare needed more fuckin'…And then just as Hamlet and Ophelia were about to fuck by the river, I heard something that snapped me out of it. I wasn't paying attention to the conversation between the two boys before-hand, but I was now.

"I know! Moms are the worst! With mine, all the bitch does is nag me about stuff! She never lets me do anything fun! I wish she would just get hit by a car on the way to work."

The two boys were in between Shuichi and I, and even though his back was to me, and to them, I could hear from the way he was breathing and how tense he seemed that he wasn't too happy with this conversation either… But his mask of plausible deniability about being anything other than the kindest student in all the land was more important.

Good thing I didn't give a fuck. I glanced over my book, and spoke just loud enough for them to hear me, "No you don't."

They seemed confused by my sudden intrusion, but responded quickly all the same. "Yeah, I do! I hate her, I wish she would just disappear!"

I closed my book and leaned forward, frankly I kind of understood the anger, having been there myself once. So I was going to tell him what I wish someone had told me. "See, that is where you are wrong. Part of you may think you really do, but it's just frustration getting the better of you. She nags you because she cares…Nobody in this world is ever going to love you the way your mom does. But the problem is that you aren't gonna realize that until you see her lifeless corpse, and realize you would give anything to have her come back to yell at you just one more time…." I could see both of them looking at me in disbelief. _It's probably a bit too early for mortality talk, but why not continue? I have come this far._ "And when she is gone, you are going to regret every single time you got mad at her for caring. And you are going to _hate_ yourself for ever uttering the words you just spoke…Don't make the same mistakes I did. Tell her you care while she is still breathing." _Not while you are holding her bloody, headless carcass next to the dining room table…_

Both boys were just staring at me. _Nobody in this stupid school can handle a fucking conversation._ I looked up further and saw Shuichi was staring at me too, with sadness in his eyes. I sort of felt guilty, but I didn't really have the energy to worry about his mommy issues. I leaned back, re-raising my book, muttering "ignorant children" under my breath. I didn't dwell on the conversation for too long because class began a few minutes later.

* * *

After class ended, I was about to head towards the cafeteria, when a hand on my shoulder stop me. Even though it was through my school uniform, I still felt the faint zap of energy transfer. _Shit, that is weird. That shouldn't happen. Skin to skin only…right?_

I turn to see Shuichi and he quickly removes his hand from my shoulder, and with a silent nod, and gesture, he asked me if I wanted to have lunch with him again. I nodded, and we were on the move, _I mean, how could I say no to those piercing green eyes?_

"Did you want to grab food from the cafeteria first?"

"No, I don't eat that much during the day. Do you?"

"No I bring my own lunch." He smiled, a fake one.

I turned to look at him as we stepped towards the table. "I told you not to do that." He crooked a brow, "I know when smiles are fake."

"I see that." He pauses, opening his lunch and looking into the distance. "Sorry, it's just not a good day for me."

"Don't apologize. Feel what you feel. And if you want to talk about it, I'll listen. If you don't, that is fine too. I won't push you into it, though."

We sat in silence for a few minutes; him with some form of salad, and me with my sucker. "I should talk about it to someone I suppose." I gave him a reassuring smile, encouraging him to continue. "My mother is sick, and she is getting sicker…the doctors don't know how much time she has left…She had an appointment early this morning, and it was only more bad news."

I took a deep breath, and reached out to touch his hand with mine. More energy, but I ignored it. "I am sure you have heard the words 'I'm sorry' so many times that they have lost all semblance of meaning, but I will say that I know a familiar pain. Though for me, I had no idea it was coming. The dread must make it that much worse…However, it does give you the opportunity to rid yourself of regrets, and make the most of the time you have left."

He rubbed the side of my hand, and I could feel it in my entire body. The energy shared between us was too much for this human form, I began to worry that I couldn't maintain the contact without shifting, and sprouting furry black ears and a bushy tail would probably ruin the moment more than my pulling away. So I did. Gently. And he gave me a soft, but sincere smile.

"Most people just look at me with pity when I tell them."

"Pity only helps the giver, not the recipient. I avoid pitying anyone if I can. It's like insulting their pain."

"I heard what you said earlier today. I know from your sense of observation, you probably knew I was uncomfortable, and that is why you spoke up."

"Yeah, that was most of it. The other part is that somebody needed to tell them… Protecting people from their own mortality only encourages them to waste their life focusing on the wrong things. They probably won't listen, but I know I tried."

"You were speaking from experience, though?" I nodded. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"I don't have to, that wound is healed. Like a scar on the soul now… I still feel phantom pains from it, but I have accepted it. But I don't mind talking about it, I know you are curious."

"I won't lie. I am."

"It's an awfully dark topic to have over lunch. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Only if you want to tell it."

"When I was young, my parents and I were having dinner when a stranger broke into our home. I hid, and I watched the stranger kill them in front of me. Too scared for my own life to do anything to save them." I saw the swift inhalation of breath that told me he wasn't prepared for that either. But, I saw no pity. I was grateful for that.

"I doubt you could have done anything to help them. You would have only been killed alongside them. "

"Probably…but I have to live with the decision not to try. Regrets are weird things. In my experience the decisions made that went wrong always weigh less than the decisions that weren't made…I regret my inactions far more than any of my actions."

"That's not a perspective I am used to hearing from people our age." He spoke, and I could see in his eyes, that he too found truth in my words.

"Well, I have seen far more dark shit than anyone our age probably should." And to my surprise, I found myself laughing. Even more surprising, he did too… I looked at my watch. Lunch was almost over. It was time for class again. I stood up, straightening out my uniform, but before leaving I turned back to him. "Shuichi…if there is something you are thinking about doing. Just do it. Don't regret the inactions, a soul can only handle so many, and you have a long life ahead of you." He looked at me like I said the words he needed to hear, and I felt proud of myself for being able to give him the courage say whatever he wanted to say to his mother.

* * *

After school, I met Keiko outside the gates, and when she reached me, we saw Kuwabara coming out of the school with all sorts of bruises and injuries, and his friends looking rather worried. And Keiko spoke up. "He isn't allowed to fight from the Mr. Akashi thing. But his enemies still want to fight him, so he is just taking the punches. He is even taking the punches for his friends. It is heartbreaking. I was gonna help him study for his test tomorrow. If he passes that, all of this is over."

"Well then let's ask if he wants us to walk home with him. He can study with you at his place, and if anyone tries to fuck with him on the way home, I will kick their asses." Despite my gruffness, Keiko smiled at me and nodded, and we went over to Kuwabara.

"Hey Kuwabara, would you like some help studying for your test tomorrow? We wanted to walk with you back to your house and help if you want."

He laughed that goofy laugh, "Thanks for the offer girls, but walking home with me isn't such a good idea right now. All the thugs have heard I am not gonna fight back, so I am sort of a walking target."

"That is why I am here too." I take tape out of my bookbag and begin to wrap my knuckles.

"Woah there, girls can't fight!"

"Like hell they can't…" I retorted and Keiko laughed.

"You don't know her very well Kuwabara, but I do…we will be fine. Let's go study."

On the way to Kuwabara's house, we encountered three groups of thugs. Each with three or four guys, but in each group, after I threw the first guy to the ground and dug my heel into his spine, the others decided it wasn't worth it. After the first group Kuwabara stopped looking surprised. When we almost made it to his home he finally decided to ask,

"Hey, Tsuki, where did you learn to fight like that? I don't think I have ever seen a girl kick that much ass."

I laugh, "My grandpa owns a dojo and gives martial arts lessons. I had black belts in three styles by age ten… Keiko has taken some lessons. She can throw a pretty mean punch too, if you piss her off."

He turned to look at Keiko, "Is that right?"

She giggled, "Yup!"

As we walk into his home we meet his sister Shizuru. She makes me laugh, ragging on Kuwabara for finally bringing a girl home, but there is two of them, and one of them has blood on her wrapped fists.

We explained we were friends here to help him study, and why I was wearing a different uniform, and she seemed appeased by that answer. And the studying went well. It was mostly just me listening as they studied, unless they needed an alternative explanation of a topic. They pretty much agreed that I was a useless study partner otherwise, because I had no idea how to do it. As night fell, I walked Keiko home and returned to the dojo. Hiro looked at my wrapped hands.

"Defending Keiko's honor again?"

"Kuwabara's actually." He raised his eyebrow like he is so fond of doing. "It's kind of a long story, but the short version is, one of those piece of shit teachers was threatening to expel him if he fought anyone, so he stopped fighting back. I became his surrogate fists, because I am already expelled and the asshole can't touch me." I began to unwrap my fists.

"At least you wrapped them this time. Bruised knuckles aren't exactly attractive for a girl."

"Why, because men don't like it when a woman can fight back?"

"Most of them."

"Well, who gives a shit about them?" I retort, dropping the bloody tape in the trash, and rubbing my knuckles. I see Hiro shrug as I head up the stairs.

* * *

As I lay under the covers, hiding my book beneath with me, knowing that if Yusuke or another spirit got close enough to look under the covers, I would feel them. I heard a familiar voice.

"Luna?"

"Kuro! Long time no talk. How is your information gathering going?"

"Not great. Everyone is too tight lipped about it. It's like they noticed everyone connected to the case has shown up tortured and dead."

"You let them find the bodies? I thought I taught you better than that."

"You did. They found one because I fucked up. They assumed the same thing happened to the others missing."

"Dammit, Kuro. Don't get caught…what would your partner have said?"

"Uh, he probably would have called me an idiot in the most disappointed tone possible, and then may or may not have stabbed me with a plant. Hard to be sure. You could never tell when he was in a stabbing mood."

"Kinda like me?"

"No, Luna…you are _always_ in a stabbing mood." I laugh at him.

"Are you busy?"

"No. Still just pouring drinks. Starting to get tired of my own tits though... They lose the appeal when they are on your own chest."

"Oh, poor baby."

"Why? You wanna mentally braid each other's hair and talk about boys?"

"Sorta." His shock was almost palpable.

"Oh shit, you _actually_ found a dreamboat to eyefuck?"

"I am not _eyefucking_ him!"

"So he is a dreamboat?"

"Would you please stop saying that?…but he is probably the closest you could get."

"Tell me about him. I gotta hear about the first guy in six hundred years to get your panties wet."

"Kuro…"

"Oh come on! Don't even try to deny it. And tell me about it. I need to know, you have listened to me talk about girlfriends. I am excited to finally return the favor."

"I would hardly consider them girlfriends…"

"Stop deflecting."

"Okay so… He had long red hair…beautiful shade. Not a color I have ever seen before. He had gorgeous green eyes. Very piercing, very expressive. Kuro, he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He transcended handsome and went to a new plane of attractiveness." I could feel him laughing at me. "But here is the weird thing…he smelled like Demonid Roses."

"Wait, what? He is human, right?"

"Yeah. He smelled human. Acted human, and felt like a human. I have no reason to believe otherwise…"

"How could you even tell? Demonid Roses have been extinct for three thousand years. Nobody even really knows what they looked like anymore because there aren't records. I only know about them from my plant-obsessed partner who looked for seeds for them for many, many years."

"I remember them. I saw them. There was a whole field of them in my pack's territory. I had just awakened my humanoid form, so it is probably one of my oldest memories…and there is one more thing…"

"Oh it gets better than a human boy smelling like an extinct flower of demon world? Tell me more…"

"Let me preface this by saying I could feel he had energy, but it didn't feel much different than that of a normal human with spirit energy. But when our fingers touched, I could feel the energy sap going both ways. Like an arch of electricity. I could even feel it through fabric when he touched my shoulder…Have you ever felt anything like that?"

"Not with a human…"

"What do you mean..?"

"When I touch demon girls sometimes, I can sorta feel that. It's not as strong as how you described it, but it's there."

"What kinds of demon girls?"

I felt the twinge signaling something inappropriate, "The ones I am about to put my dick in."

"I swear to God, Kuro, if you are fucking with me I am gonna rip off your Goddamn wings!"

"No, no. I am not! I swear…and it's only when there is a mutual attraction. If she isn't interested in me, there is nothing there, other than the normal feeling of energy transfer… And this may be important, maybe not. But I have noticed, the more intense that spark, the better the sex is going to be."

"Can they feel it too?"

"Yeah they can…oh shit."

"Do you think he could feel it?"

"I really have no idea. As I said, never happened with a human. Honestly, I thought you would know more about this, since you have had these powers so much longer than me."

"One more thing…"

"Fuck, this gets weirder, doesn't it?"

"I was trying to comfort him about his dying mom, so I grabbed his hand, and I had to let go, because I was feeling so much energy, I didn't think I could maintain it in this body."

"He can't be a normal human Luna. It doesn't make sense."

"But if he were a demon, I would know."

"Well there is something different about him. Because that doesn't sound normal…Oh shit. People are talking… gotta go… I recommend fucking him though. Sounds like the sex would be explosive." He severed the connection before I could reply.

 _So…Shuichi doesn't appear to be a normal human…that would explain why we get along so well._

* * *

The next morning I walked Keiko to school, and realized Kuwabara's friends were there and he wasn't. Keiko seemed to have realized the same thing.

"His test is first period! He is gonna miss it!" Keiko yelled and I took off running. Trying to follow the scent of him.

It didn't take long to find him, I was behind him, and I saw three thugs chasing after him, and I saw a girl from school chasing them. She caught up to them and hit one with her bag. I knew that was my chance to step in. I grabbed the one furthest from her and punched him square in the nose. I held back, but I still felt it break. _Oh well. Sucks to be him._

The girl spoke, but it didn't feel like her voice, "Tsuki, nice punch!" I punched the other guy, and she threw him to the ground.

"Yusuke?" and the girl, no, Yusuke smiled. "Stop possessing people you fucking weirdo." He gave me that signature Yusuke smile. I looked to make sure Kuwabara wasn't being followed anymore and I ran towards Meiou. I knew I was going to be late. But I didn't really have any choice. I couldn't let Kuwabara suffer.

* * *

 **Kurama**

I was sitting in class. It had already begun, but there was still no sign of Tsuki. Around fifteen minutes into class, the door opened and there she was. She seemed out of breath. "Sorry I am late Ms. Sori. It won't happen again." She apologized, and tried to go to her seat, but Ms. Sori interrupted her with a cough. Tsuki turned, and that is when I noticed the knuckles on her right first were bruised and bloody. The teacher noticed them too.

"What happened to you?" She asked, obviously angry that one of the top students had obviously been in a fist fight when they were supposed to be in class.

"I fell" Tsuki answered confidently, but Ms. Sori clenched her jaw. "Repeatedly." I saw her annoyance. "I am a real klutz."

"The blood is a distraction to the class… you should –" She was cut off by the sight of Tsuki reaching under her uniform top, and the sound of her ripping her undershirt. She wrapped the thin piece of white fabric tightly around her knuckles and tied it.

Ms. Sori was still not pleased. She and Tsuki were having a stare off, and then I felt a well-hidden energy signature from her, she looked at Ms. Sori with even more determination "This is really not important and we should continue with class."

Ms. Sori nodded, "You are right. Take your seat Ms. Hamagi." Ms. Sori turned back to the board, and Tsuki walked to her seat. Her energy disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared. I don't think even the most aware human would have even felt it. It felt like neither human or demon energy. _Then what was it?_

I could still smell the blood. I knew most of it wasn't hers. But some of it was. It's likely that her delicate skin was ripped on the teeth of whomever she punched. All that activity would have made her undershirt sweaty too… placed on that open wound, it was probably burning.

 _But why am I worried about her? Is it because she is obviously not a normal human? How could I ask her without revealing myself to be a demon?_

When class was over, I nudged her shoulder with mine, and glanced in the direction of our spot. _Our spot…I really am growing a soft spot for her…_ When we arrived, rather than sitting at the table, I grabbed her uninjured hand and led her into the greenhouse. I felt that familiar jolt when our hands touched, but I ignored it, unsure if she could feel it too, or if it was just a one sided reaction of my demon energy reacting with whatever she had.

"Uh, Shuichi? What are we doing? It is hella humid in here." I couldn't help but laugh at her bluntness.

"Well, it _is_ a greenhouse." I pointed to a stool, "Sit" She narrowed her eyes at me, but did as she was told. It was rather cute. I reached up to the shelf to find the first aid kit, and removed some bandaging, then picked some Calendula. And began crushing it with a mortar and pestle.

"Are we doing drugs? Cause I think I already caused enough trouble today." I smiled again. She has a way of making me smile…that worries me. At least I know that if she were going to use her powers of persuasion on me, I would be able to sense it.

"No, this is a plant-based antiseptic." I glanced at the bloody fabric on her hand, "For your wounds."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that! I have had worse, and most of the blood isn't even mine." I smiled, she wasn't even trying to convince me of her story.

"I thought you fell?" I threw her own sarcastic tone at her. Picking up her hand and unwrapping the bloody fabric. The energy still flowing between us. I wasn't sure I would ever get used to that sensation.

"The obvious explanation is that I fell into a puddle of blood." She watched me intently as I began to wipe away the dried blood.

"And you showed that puddle of blood that you were not to be trifled with, I assume?" I began to apply the salve, and I knew it had to burn, but she barely even showed signs that she felt it at all.

"We just met, but you already know me so well." She smirked at me, I knew this was flirting, but I think for the first time since becoming human, I was enjoying it. I began to wrap clean gauze around her knuckles and I noticed they were healing much faster than they should be. Even with the salve. I taped it down to seal it from stray dust, and then I let her hand go. The buzzing feeling stopped immediately at loss of contact, and I realized that I missed it.

"There you go. All done." I spoke softly, putting away the supplies.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to do that. I don't know what to say..."

I recognized that indecision, I have worn it myself. _Feeling like everything comes with a price._ "You don't owe me anything. I wanted to help, so I did…" without really thinking, I offered my hand to help her from the stool, and to my surprise, she took it. The full palm to palm contact made the sensation all that more intense, and I had to really focus to hide it from her. "Now let's finish our lunch outside, shall we? You don't seem to enjoy the humidity in here." She dropped my hand the second she was on her feet, and again, I missed it.

"But does anyone really enjoy the humidity in there?"

"I do" I stated as we exited the greenhouse.

"Really? How do you keep your hair looking so beautiful then? Or has it just given up completely and submitted to your abuse?" We sat down at the table, and I took out my lunch, and she took out another of those Lollipops; this one seemed to be grape. It took me a moment to realize she had asked a question, insulted me, and complimented me, all in one statement.

"I have it securely whipped into submission at this point…" I decided to play her game and flirt back. What was there to lose? I was going to give my life for my mother's as soon as I had the Forlorn Hope, and she is the one who told me to not regret my inaction… "And good conditioner helps too." I gave her the flirty smile I hadn't really used in years and pulled my hair behind my ears.

"Wow, you are better at flirting than your fake smiles." She laughed, "I honestly don't know if that was real or not."

"And you never will." I joked back.

"Okay, just promise you won't do that to me in front of our classmates. I don't need your fangirls coming after me too. Enough people want me dead already…" I raised my eyebrow to her, _my fangirls?_ "And I swear, if a love-struck teen who thinks I stole her man-candy is the one who finally does me in, that will be so embarrassing."

"Wait. Fangirls? _Man candy?_ "

"Yeah, I have been cornered in the bathroom and interrogated as to why I am 'holding you hostage'" she made air quotes, "at lunch everyday…Pretty hilarious really."

"I am sorry. I have no idea they did that. I must be oblivious to their advances at this point."

"Are they that bad?"

"They are pretty bad. I lost count of how many times I heard that my eyes were _beautiful emeralds_ and they would kill for my _luxurious hair_ and _perfect skin_." I watched her laugh, almost to the point of cackling.

"Oh my God, they are that forward? _And cheesy?_ " I nodded at her. "And that is supposed to make you like them?"

"Apparently."

"No wonder it didn't work. That shit is awful."

 _Let's take this a step further, shall we?_ "I am sure a beautiful girl like you has heard more cheesy pick-up lines than I have?"

She cocked a brow and smirked at me "You are kidding me right? The second a teenage boy realizes you can kick his ass, he feels emasculated and his dick deflates faster than the damn Hindenburg." Now I was the one cackling. I covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn't remember the last time someone made me laugh like this. _Kuronue, probably. They seem like they would have been friends._

"Well then they are fools. Women who are capable of taking care of themselves are the best kind of women." She smiled at me, a new kind. Her mouth was slightly open, her expression was so warm. I watched her look down at her pocket watch.

"Looks like we should be getting to class before they accuse me of fucking you in the greenhouse." She kept a straight face and went back in the building. She didn't make eye contact, which is a good thing, because I think I might have blushed.

* * *

 **Luna**

I lie in bed, thinking of all the events of the day. The fist fight with a girl possessed by Yusuke's disembodied ghost. Using my abilities in a room full of people to minimize a scene. Though I was thankful nobody seemed to think it was too suspicious. And then Shuichi, nursing my wounds and seemingly touching me as much as possible. And then even _flirting_ with me. That energy connection did feel really nice, I just wish it didn't make me feel like I was going to have to shift to a demon form to handle it. _God it felt so nice…Enough of that!_

Keiko told me that Kuwabara passed his test and is doing fine, and that was such a relief. Now to look forward to the weekend. What was I going to do with all this free time? Keiko would be looking out for Yusuke's body. I can't wait until Yusuke is alive again, and I can get back to stalking people.

"Luna?" he sounded frustrated.

"Kuro, what is wrong?"

"This isn't working. Nobody is talking, I can't look in their heads without them noticing, and I am tired of pretending to be a pretty bartender."

"Create a distraction so you can look in their heads while they are focusing on something else."

"They will notice. Or they will know something is up."

"Flirting with them doesn't work?"

"Not enough for me to dig deep enough to find what I need."

"I have an idea, but I am not sure either of us will ever get over the emotional trauma."

"We don't have a choice. Let's hear it."

"All demon guys like to see girl-on-girl right?"

"Yeah, pretty much, why?" He pauses, and I can feel his horror, it almost hurts my pride. "Oh God. I know what you are thinking. You are like my sister, I can't…"

"It's just acting Kuro. We will be fine. You said we didn't have a choice." He paused for a long time before speaking again.

"Fine, just pick a body that isn't your real one, okay?"

"Yeah. Of course. You wanna do it tomorrow? I can tell Keiko I am taking a trip to see some old friends, and then disappear from the train station. What could possibly happen while Yusuke is still dead?"

"Yeah, just tell me when you get here, and we will make a plan."


	7. Hating Yourself

~~NOTES~~~

As promised, number 7! I must remind you that this is rated M for sexual content. This chapter is mild, but it won't be forever. -.^

* * *

*" _When we don't know who to hate, we hate ourselves"-Chuck Palahniuk*_

I called Keiko the next morning, she said she was going to go check on Yusuke and Atsuko and then go shopping the rest of the day. She seemed sad I wasn't going to be able to go with her, but she could handle a day without me, and my best friend needed my help.

He needed to avenge the death of his best friend. I never pushed about the subject, but I know his ex-partner in crime was his best friend for longer than I have known him, and when I saved him, he had to leave that life behind and start a new one as my protégé. I knew he missed him. I didn't have to look inside his mind to know that, and one day while scouting for information on something new to steal, he heard that his best friend was killed. That was when we changed from a thieving duo, to a murdering one...I had already left my criminal empire in the hands of a friend, so it was easy for the two of us to do our own thing. He made it his goal to track down every member of that SDF team, and I made it my goal to help him. I can't abandon him because I almost got myself killed, and then got myself trapped in a life-debt. I never had siblings, but I feel like Kuro is what my brother would feel like.

I headed to the train station, snuck onto one, and cut a portal to Demon World through the bathroom. Once I was there, I followed Kuro's example. Choosing the body of some girl from a magazine, and giving her cat ears and a tail. I now had fairly long orange hair, and green eyes, and my clothes became too tight, but that was probably a good thing in this situation. I unbuttoned several buttons on my shirt, giving myself room to breathe, and giving enough cleavage to keep these demons distracted while we poke around in their heads.

I stood outside of the bar he said he was working at. "Kuro? I am here. What do you need me to do?"

"Alright, do you want to be the more dominant one, or do you want me to?"

"You are aware I am only using movies and what I have seen in your mind as reference for this, right?"

"Yeah…Shit. I guess I am dominant. Okay so the plan is, you will walk in here all confident, look at me, say something along the lines of 'hey beautiful, I missed you.'. Then come to the bar, put your knee in the stool, and grab my tie to pull me to you. We will both climb onto the bar, make out, grab breasts and moan. I will look into the minds of the people behind you, you look at the people behind me. Keep the connection open so we can still talk. Remember to keep up the show."

I took a deep breath, and started the plan. I stepped into the bar. Slowly at first, trying to imitate the aloof sexy girls I see in the romance movies. I made eye contact with her. _Him. Whatever._ He was a mouse demon, short blonde hair, dainty whiskers, a small vest, short shorts, and a bright red tie loosely around his neck, drawing attention to his breasts. I flash a seductive smile. "Hey there, gorgeous, long time, no see." I made a show of licking the tip of one of my accentuated canines as I advanced towards him. He smiled and winked at me.

We continued to speak inside our minds, "You are doing great. Love the school-girl thing you got going on here." He didn't break eye contact as he moved things from the counter top.

"Thanks, I forgot to change clothes" I admitted as I followed his instructions, putting my knee in an open stool, and using my momentum to get my leg onto the counter, and reaching forward to grab the red tie from his cleavage, and pull his mouth to mine. He moaned into my mouth, and I heard someone in the bar drop a glass. His girl lips definitely felt different than his guy lips. The flashes of the past that tried to pass through the kiss began to flood our minds, but after a moment we managed to suppress and ignore them. He grabbed my shoulders and used me to pull himself up onto the bar top. We were standing on our knees, horizontally across the bar top, so between us, we could see all the patrons.

He grabbed the back of my neck and my lower back forcefully, pulling my body to his and deepening the kiss. He obviously isn't used to having tits when he uses that move, because there was a quite uncomfortable clash of breasts. "The guy behind me and to my left is my best bet. Focus on him first."

I began to kiss his neck, and nibble on his mouse ear as I dug past the images of a threesome, and deeper into the demon's brain. Kuro was grabbing my ass and pulling my hair. Moaning loudly into my ear. I found nothing of interest in that demon's brain, so I continued down the line. We were doing surprisingly well at reading each-others moves to make this scene believable. I was kneading his left breast when I asked him, "Any luck yet?"

"No, how about you?" He bit my ear way too hard, and I tried to turn the scream into a moan. "Sorry. My bad. These teeth are weird, and I thought your ears were thicker." At that moment, digging through the mind of the demon near the entrance of the bar at a table, watching us intently. I caught a stray memory of finding it hard to drop off a tip for SDF and have them take it seriously.

"Bingo. Behind you." I reached down, and grabbed his knees, pulling them up onto my hips, and forcing him to fall back onto the countertop with enough force to make all the glassware jingle. He caught what I was doing without me needing to tell him, and threw his head back so he could look at the demon too. I knew he had more of an idea what he was looking for, so I tried to keep the demon distracted by kissing my way down his chest to nibble at the top of his breast. I gripped the thigh wrapped around my waist as I grinded into him.

"I got it. I know how he was tipping them off and who had him do it." He leaned up to kiss me, biting my lip, and I knew we got what we needed, so it was time to end this farce. I spoke aloud. "You wanna get outta here, babe?" I asked as breathily as possible, and I heard the chorus of disgruntled patrons who were hoping we would just finish right here.

"I want to." He whined. "But I can't leave the bar unattended." He pouted at me, _actually_ pouted at me.

I ripped the tie off of his neck. "You can be a real bitch, you know that? I come all this way to see you and you still choose this fucking job." I take the tie and climb off the counter, making my way towards the exit.

"I'll come see you, later, okay?" He called after me.

"Fuck off!" I yelled as I slammed the door on the way out. I figured making him the victim would give him the opportunity to get more tips. As I got away from the building, I heard him again.

"That was very disturbing, and we should never speak of this again." I laughed.

"But we did so well! Even though you taste like cheap liquor and bad decisions."

"My two favorite things. Other than expensive shiny things of course…And we did do well, everyone believed it. Even the fight. By the way, you slamming me on the counter after I bit you was pretty hot. You are a natural. You are gonna hit that dreamboat human boy like a fucking freight train."

"Yeah, yeah… so what did this odd exercise in our acting skills really get us? Other than nightmares about grinding against, who is basically my brother, when he is pretending to be a woman?"

"He was acting under official orders from Yomi's government."

"Of course he was... We figured Yomi orchestrated my hit, but do you really think he killed your friend?"

"I don't know. He had a motive, probably, but we worked very hard to make sure Yomi never found him, and I thought we were successful. I guess I have a government to infiltrate." He paused, as I walked into a secluded area of demon world to safely open a portal, "And I am sorry your first semi-sexual experience was completely fake. But I appreciate your help…I couldn't have done it without you."

"I am happy to help you Kuro…I know you want to avenge your friend. And I will help anyway I can… I wish I could have met him"

"I wish you could too…but too many people would have recognized me if we were with him. Too many people knew our names as a team. I would have gotten all of us killed… I just regret never telling him I was alive before he died."

"I know…but if Yomi _was_ responsible for the death of your friend, I will take care of him. I promise...Just be careful, Kuro. You wouldn't be the first person who tried to infiltrate Yomi's house for me, and it has never worked out well for my spy."

"I know. I'll be careful, and if it works, that will be good for your big evil master plan, anyways, right?"

"Fuck my plan, Kuro. Your life is more important."

I felt how touched he was, it was a little painful, I thought he knew he meant more to me than anyone, "I know. That is why I will be careful."

* * *

After I left demon world and changed back into my human form, I figured I should be able to just portal back to the dojo without anyone noticing. Yusuke and other spirits would just assume they missed me. I opened a portal to just outside of the dojo, switching back to Tsuki within the space between worlds, and arriving on the street. I walked into the dojo, and found Hiro waiting for me. I knew something was wrong.

"Keiko just called. Something happened. They are at Kuwabara's"

"Oh fuck." I left the dojo, and ran as fast as my human legs could take me. The door to Kuwabara's home was open, so I stepped inside. I saw Shizuru giving Keiko a haircut, and Yusuke's corpse laying on the living room floor.

"Keiko, what happened?" I ask, surprisingly out of breathe.

"Oh Tsuki!" She tried to turn to me, but Shizuru held her head still.

"Don't move if you want to keep your ears." She stated, clipping away at the singed hair on Keiko's head. _Wait, singed?_

I stepped in front of Keiko, so she could talk to me without moving, and she spoke. "Someone tried to burn down Yusuke's apartment, I went in to save him. I thought I wasn't going to make it out, but then blue flames led the way out, and it felt like Yusuke was really with me…and Kuwabara helped me carry him out."

I felt the guilt well up inside me. She almost died, and I wasn't here to help her… _I wasn't here for her._ "Keiko I am so sorry I wasn't here. I should have been here."

Shizuru unwrapped the apron from around Keiko, signaling that she was done, and I saw Keiko's hair short for the first time, and she got up to hug me. Her unwavering love made me feel even worse. "It's okay, Tsuki. You couldn't have done anything either. And everything worked out okay. We are all safe." She smiled at me, but I couldn't stop hating myself. She turned to Shizuru, "Thank you so much for fixing my hair."

Shizuru looked to Keiko, and I saw the faintest smile. I never noticed how beautiful Shizuru really was until now. She didn't wear make-up or fancy clothes, but her confidence and natural beauty really made her stand out. "It's no problem, just try not to make it a habit of running into burning buildings to save dead people. The next time, it might not be fixed with a haircut." The level of sass from her was palpable. In any other situation, I would have loved it, but I was too worried about Keiko, and too guilty for leaving her alone.

Keiko smiled softly, knowing Shizuru was right, and I rubbed her shoulder to make her feel better. "Oh, I almost forgot, I found something for you while shopping!" Keiko ran to what I assume were her shopping bags from before the incident, and she removed a small box and handed it to me.

I smiled at her, wondering what it could possibly be, and when I opened the box, I felt my heart swell and break at the same time. It was a small barrette of a rose. It was simple, but I knew exactly why she got it for me, and I realized this was the first gift I had ever been given. "Keiko…I…"

"I saw it, and it reminded me so much of your story about your mother, and I remembered how happy you looked thinking about her. I had to get it for you. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to…I just thought…"

I cut her off, "No…Keiko it's wonderful. Nobody has ever done anything like this for me."

She reached forward, and grabbed the barrette from the box, and clipped it into my hair near my right ear. "There you go." She smiled so warmly. I couldn't handle all the emotions flying around, I wasn't prepared for this sort of thing. _Monsters don't wear flowers in their hair._ I couldn't believe it, but I was starting to really care for her. As a friend. I realized I wanted to protect her, not just because I owed her, but because I wanted to. Because she deserved protection; and deserved love.

* * *

Thanks to good insurance the rest of the day was spent with the group of us getting Atsuko and Yusuke set up in a new apartment, and salvaging what we could from the burnt rubble of his old home. Standing in the ashes of what used to be the living room, I felt my guilt well up again. Knowing I could have done something. If I were here I could have done so many things. I could have stopped the fire, or gotten Yusuke out myself, anything would have been better than this. I was pulled from the thoughts by a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Shizuru,

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you are gonna stand here thinking about what you _should have_ done, at least regret a situation that actually ended badly. Keiko is fine. Aside from being dead, Yusuke is fine. Atsuko is fine, and they even got a better apartment out of the deal. Everything happens for a reason. You can't fix every situation, but dwelling on it won't fix a damn thing."

I stared at Shizuru. Knowing she was absolutely right. What is done is done, and everything worked out this time. I just can't let it happen again. "Thank you. You are right."

"Damn straight, I am. Now grab that box and put your back into it. Fuck knows Atsuko isn't gonna do a damn thing." I laughed, Shizuru really knew what was going on with people. Like she could see the reality in every situation. It was oddly refreshing, but also worrying…I felt like she could see that I was pretending to be something I am not. I could faintly feel the weight of the rose in my hair, and it brought me some comfort. Knowing that the thing about me that resonated so much with Keiko wasn't one of my many lies, but one of the few truths.

* * *

Hours later I arrived back at the dojo, and Hiro had apparently just finished making us some wonton soup. He glanced at me entering the door, "Is everything okay?" He asked, handing me a bowl of the steamy soup, after the day I had, the smell was so comforting.

"There was a fire. Everyone is okay though. I just regret not being there."

"Ah yes. You were visiting Kuro, right?"

"Yeah…took the train." I knew he would know the truth from that.

"Did you and Kuro have fun at least?"

I laughed, the connotations were too much, "Yeah, something like that."

"But everyone is alright. So there is no reason to regret anything. No point in focusing on what-ifs."

"Yeah. That's what people keep telling me, but I can't help it."

"The only thing you can do is learn from it."

* * *

~~NOTES~~~

There you go! Short chapter with a little bit of naughty. Hope you liked it. I loved writing that scene, even though I had trouble figuring out what sort of pronouns to use. See you next Sunday!


	8. Let the Beautiful Out

*" _We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." -Ray Bradbury*_

I woke from my few hours of real sleep very suddenly. The vision of holding a golden Yusuke in my arms as I kissed him, was frankly horrifying. Well, that is enough sleep for tonight... _Sorry Yusuke, but that isn't going to happen...I can make sure Keiko does it though. I am sure everyone you knew got that same vision...but if I was the one to kiss you, I think you would rather be dead than see my life...the things I have seen should not be viewed by a young human. It would break him. Not to mention blow my cover as an average fourteen year old girl._

I laid back down, resting my head on the pillow, and covering my face with my hands. At least that means this is almost over. Whatever Yusuke had to do to save Keiko in my absence didn't cost him his chance at life. _But then what will happen? Spirit World doesn't just do nice things...there is always an agenda. This is only going to get harder, isn't it?_

* * *

When I went by Keiko's to walk with her to school the next morning, her parents said she went by Atsuko's earlier this morning. I couldn't help but notice how tired Keiko's mother seemed. She really needed the day off, but I wasn't supposed to be able to sense that sort of thing.

I caught up with Keiko as she was leaving Yusuke's, I called after her, "Hey did you wake his ass up? You better not make me do it."

She turned around, seemingly confused, "You had the dream too?"

"Kissing the Midas-touched Yusuke? Yeah. But I'm not gonna do it, that is your job, girl."

Her mouth was slightly agape, "So it wasn't just a dream? I didn't think so...but when I looked at him he wasn't golden." She started to turn back, but I grabbed her, keeping her on track to school.

"I am sure he can wait til after school, especially since he isn't shiny yet...You gotta keep up your perfect student attendance. The more perfect you are, the more it will piss off those asshole teachers."

"Yeah you are right. I can do it after school..." She spoke softly, her voice drifting out at the end.

"What is wrong?"

"It's nothing...it's silly, really." She whispered, looking intently at her feet. I turned to look at her, not breaking our stride to school.

"It's not nothing if it bothers you. Tell me."

She still hesitated, but I stared her down until she spoke again. "I've never kissed anyone..." Oh _oh._

"Don't worry about it. You can't possibly mess it up, and I promise you'll like it. It's just Yusuke, and he probably needs it to bring him back, like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White."

She laughed, "I just imagined Yusuke in the Snow White dress." I smiled at her,

"I think he would be closer to Aurora. He would be more likely to stab himself than eat a bad apple."

"True...But what is it like, have you ever kissed anyone?" _Fuck. Lies, or truth? Must decide quickly! I have no idea what a normal kiss is like, though? Shit. Truth...ish_

"I have, but it wasn't like a romantic thing. I was pretending to be a friend's girlfriend to get him out of a situation. It was kind of weird for me, because he is almost like a brother, so I wasn't thinking about it, but it's nice in its own way. It's something you gotta try, and I would imagine it would be much nicer if you actually had an interest in the guy."

She smirked at me, in the way only a teenage girl talking about boys can, "When was this? Why haven't you told me?"

"Uh...yesterday. I wasn't seeing cousins, I was seeing him."

"But you have no romantic interest in him?"

"None. He has just been my best friend for a long time...aside from you of course." I smiled at her, knowing she was disappointed in my lack of boy interests.

"Yeah. Same with Yusuke." I tried not to laugh, but I failed. She glared at me.

"You know there is no point in lying to me, right?"

She didn't answer me, just gave me a guilty glance as we separated at the gates of her school.

* * *

I stepped into school, signing myself in as present, and then sitting in the hallway outside of the classroom to read until time for second period to begin. This book was a cheesy romance about pirates, and forbidden love on the seven seas...yo ho. I barely heard Shuichi come up beside me. He was really good at being silent, it is very hard to sneak up on me. _Color me impressed._ I glanced up to him, and he gave me a soft smile.

"It's good to see you are on time for class today. No new wounds this time?"

"No I managed to avoid all the excitement for once."

"You don't sound happy about that."

"Nope." I said matter-of-factly, and he seemed to be waiting for an explanation, but I didn't really want to give one, so I just looked up at him. I could tell he was growing impatient even through his facade of calm demeanor. He was rather cute when he was angry, but pretending to be calm. "If you are really that curious, I can tell you all about my masochism at lunch, alright?"

His eyes softened a bit, "Well, I suppose masochism is better than sadism."

"Oh that can be fun too...if executed properly." I smirked, and he narrowed his eyes,

"We are no longer talking about fighting, are we?"

I just winked at him, and stood just as the bell began to ring. "You are quite perceptive. That could get you into trouble, Shuichi." We both began to enter the classroom at the same time, I tried to back up, and let him proceed in front of me, but he only got closer, delicately placing a hand on my lower back, sending that familiar tingle of his touch up my spine. _That really shouldn't happen through clothing._ While I was distracted, I felt his breath on my left ear, and his hair tickling against my cheek and neck.

"I could say the same about you, Tsuki" He whispered very softly, but very clearly, and in a much lower tone than he normally speaks and the way he said it sent a very different, but still very pleasurable jolt up my spine. He pulled away as quickly as he leaned in, and backed away with a fake smile, extending his left arm in front of him as an invitation, as he gently urged me forward with the hand on my back. "Ladies first, of course." He inclined his head towards me. He knew _exactly_ what he just did. He was playing a game. _Well, hell. I can play too._

I followed his direction, but as I passed, I lightly dragged my left hand across his chest. To any onlooker, it would look like a meaningless brush, but I could tell he noticed the way my fingernails dragged along the fabric of his mauve uniform, "You are such a gentleman! Anyone who claims chivalry is dead has obviously not met you yet." I gave the most alluring smile I could muster, and I could see the dark look in his eye showing through his gentle appearance.

I advanced to my seat and sat down, opening up my novel (if you could even call it that) but continuing to watch as Shuichi sat down at his own desk and did the same. He looked just as calm and collected as ever, but I had watched him read enough to know that he should have turned the page by now. He was deep in thought. Even when he was pretending to read he still turned pages, albeit slightly faster than when he actually read them. The fact that he wasn't trying at all meant something... _It meant I won this round._

* * *

 **Kurama**

 _She can't be a regular human...my actions could have been perceived in one of two ways. She could have thought I was a normal human, with very forward flirting methods, in which case, she should have been caught off guard, blushed, hesitated... anything. Or if she knew that I was a demon, she should have perceived it as a threat. She should have been afraid. Either of those reactions would have produced an elevated heart rate. But there was nothing. There was a brief moment of surprise, but then back to her regular cool disregard of my advances..._

The teacher was lecturing but I barely even noticed. I could feel her eyes on my back. She would have noticed by now how distracted I was. I could almost feel her smirk. It was almost like she _knew_ I was provoking her. She _knew_ I was pushing her to see her reaction. But why would she think that? Have I ever given her any indication of that, or is she truly as perceptive as she seems? _Have I been underestimating her this entire time?_

I wasn't aware of how long I had been lost in my thoughts until class ended. I barely paid attention at all. I was preoccupied with analyzing my every encounter with the girl...looking for some kind of indication of who or what she really is. _But everything just points to her being an exceptionally intelligent girl, except for the nagging feeling I have that she is not what she seems to be, and the energy I feel between us everytime we touch._

She stood up first, but I quickly caught up to her, brushing her arm with mine. The energy was still present, but much less intense. I suppose it is weakened the more layers it has to travel through. She looked up to me and gave me a knowing smile, and I returned it. We walked side by side in relative silence towards the greenhouse. We took our respective seats on either side of the table, and I watched her, and waited for her to say something.

After several minutes of my staring, I began to realize that despite the fact any normal human would have become uncomfortable by now, and broken the silence. This girl was no normal human. She was just staring right back at me. If this continued, _I_ might be the one to start to feel uncomfortable.

"You are aware that I am attempting to illicit an emotional response from you." I kept my straight face and my stare. As did she.

"I am."

"Just as you were aware earlier?"

"Yes."

"And you were merely matching my provocation to illicit a reaction from me?"

"Honestly, I am surprised you caught on so quickly. I am impressed." She kept a straight face, but I could see the smile in her eyes. "Aren't mind games more fun when your target isn't so easily predicted?"

"So, you were just doing it for sport?"

"Have I given you any indication to the contrary?"

"No. That is what is concerning about the whole thing." I decided that in this case, the quickest way to the truth was through the truth.

"Well aren't you paranoid?" She broke the straight face, and flashed me a bright smile. "Shit Shuichi, you can dish out all the mind games you want, but someone does it back to you and they have to have some super-secret ulterior motive?" She _giggled,_ and then I realized I was smiling with her. "Trust me, I am not the type to play head games on my own, but I thought it would be funny to throw yours back in your face. And it was. I obviously got in your head a lot more than you got in mine."

She was right. She was absolutely right. I laughed. "It would appear so, but why is that?"

"Because you thought just because I find you attractive that I would crumble at the sound of your sexy voice. Not a bad assumption based on my peers, but it wouldn't work on me. I don't enjoy your company because you are attractive. I enjoy your company because you are interesting to talk to. Romance at our age is a complete and utter waste of time. As for the staring thing, that would only work if I were self conscious about my appearance or had something to hide. Also not a bad plan, but not valid for me."

"If you don't like romance, then why read those novels?" I point to the book peaking out of her bag.

"I didn't say I didn't like the _idea_ of romance. These books have such an idealized, linear image of love and sexuality that it is amusing. Although, the main thing is I have read everything else... I have an eidetic memory when it comes to reading. No point in re-reading when you can remember it all clearly..."

 _Well that explains the exemplary schoolwork..._ "That explains a lot, actually."

"The eidetic thing, or the soulless shrew thing?" She smiled at me, and the sunlight made her eyes shimmer, she really was beautiful.

"I wouldn't say you are a soulless shrew for not wanting a romance at fourteen or thinking that those novels are idealized fallacy. I meant the memory, it explains why you don't seem to enjoy or be challenged by school."

"What about you?" She raised her brow at me,

"Hm?"

"You don't seem interested in romance or school either. What is your excuse?"

She got me again. How could I answer her? I had no excuse. I couldn't tell her I was a three thousand year old demon inhabiting a human body. I had no valid response to her.

"I don't have one." It was as close to an honest answer as I could supply.

She chuckled, "Well thanks for not lying. I appreciate that. I would be in the same boat without the memory thing. These ideals of what is supposed to be important at our age just doesn't feel right."

"I agree. I am forced to still come to school, even though I would rather be home with Mother." I took a deep breath. The thought of her dying still bothers me, even though tomorrow at this time, I will have the means to save her life...Then I remembered the question that began this game. "You never told me what action you avoided?"

I saw her sigh, I didn't know if it because she was uncomfortable with the topic, or because she didn't know how to tell me. Or both. "My best friend Keiko is the greatest person in the world. The mask you put on of being kind, selfless, and intelligent? That is how she really is. She never worries about herself. Only how she can help others. In particular her dumbass boyfriend..." She laughs to herself, "So I have been trying to protect her. Be there for her. Keep her safe from the horrors that this world really holds. Except for yesterday, when I left her alone to go see an old friend out of town, and she almost died trying to save her comatose boyfriend from his burning apartment. My one priority since I met her has been to keep her safe, and the one time she genuinely needed me, I wasn't there."

"She is alright, though?"

"Yeah. Everyone is fine. Miraculously."

"But now you feel responsible for everything that could have gone wrong?" She nods slowly, not making eye contact with me for the first time since I have met her. I have tried relentlessly to invoke a real emotional response from her, and now that I have it, I just regret it. She seems so _upset._ I don't know if it is because she seems so strong, or if it's because of this growing fascination with her, but it almost pains me to see her without that glimmer in her eye and smirk on her face. I stood up, leaning towards her, and lifting her chin so that her eyes meet mine. "Dwelling on mistakes will not fix them. Living in the past can only ruin the future. Be thankful that nothing bad really happened and move on. Continue to be there for her, and remember she probably needs you as a friend more than she needs you as a protector." I gave a soft smile and her eyes softened. The warmth of her smile was even more potent at this close proximity. I knew I should pull away now, but I didn't _want to._ I could feel her heartbeat within the flow of energy between us. _Or was that mine?_ The fact that I couldn't tell meant I was entirely too close to this situation. It wasn't fair to _her._ Regardless of what she says, I can she she cares for me more than she wants to admit, and I think I am probably in the same situation. If given enough time, I would probably have genuine feelings for this fascinating girl with the bright eyes, looking up at me so sweetly. However, time is one thing I do not have. In a few days, I will be gone, and my mother will be healthy. Breaking Tsuki's ideals to suit the whims of a man who is soon to be dead isn't fair. She would deserve better than a demon even if I weren't about to meet my end.

I gently pulled away from her, returning to my seat on the bench. It was subtle, but I saw her flinch ever-so-slightly at the loss of contact. I only noticed because it mirrored my own. _I need to be careful not to get too close. It could put her in danger._ She looked down at the watch on her bag. "It is almost time for class. If you are going to actually eat lunch you should do it quickly." She laughed lightly.

"I am fine, our conversation was more important today." I watched her as she stood, beginning to head back into the building. She paused at the doorway,

"Thank you Shuichi...I'll talk to you later." Her half-smile was infectious. I was smiling too. _This is dangerous._

* * *

 **Luna**

I barely paid attention to anything the rest of the school day. I was an idiot. A giant idiot. I was gonna let my hormones ruin everything I had built. I swear, if I didn't know better I would think I were _actuall_ y a fourteen year old human girl. I walked the familiar path from my school to Keiko's. We had a busy day ahead of us. Resurrecting her dead boyfriend with a tiny bit of necrophilia. That's how I want to spend my afternoon.

 _What if he had actually tried to kiss me? Would I have had enough brain capacity to stop him? Or would I have convinced myself that the kiss was worth it somehow? Even in the small chance he saw a part of my life that was relatively gore-free, how could I have explained why kissing me made him hallucinate? This is fucking ridiculous. I need to get ahold of myself. He thinks you are a normal human girl. He doesn't really know you. He wouldn't like the real you anymore than Geralt did. Or even less, considering demons aren't even known about in this time period. Shit._

I clenched my fists tight, feeling my fingernails cut into the skin of my palms. I was walking fast, trying somehow to walk away my feelings. I got to the school gates just as class was letting out. I watched the students file out, but no sign of Keiko. Then I saw Kuwabara's friends, but no Kuwabara... I went up to them. They almost looked afraid of me. "Where is Kuwabara?" I asked them, and they seemed uncomfortable. Kuwabara must have shared the knowledge of my prowess with fists. I don't know whether I should be flattered or offended that they seem scared.

One spoke up, Akubo I think, "He didn't come to school today. My guess is that he went to the arcade."

 _Suspicious. Maybe he got the vision of kissing Yusuke and was even more traumatized than I was._ "Then maybe you can help me...Where is Keiko Yukimura?"

He looked worried, "Oh she got called out of class early. They said her mom was in the hospital."

"Fuck... Thank you!" I started to run away, "Oh and you have no reason to fear me, these fists only go for assholes, and you three are cool with me" I called back after them. They were laughing amongst themselves.

I ran to the hospital as fast as these human legs could take me. I reached the reception desk several minutes later. "I'm here for Yukimura" I spoke to the clerk when she looked to me. She gave me a room number, and I took off down the hallway. I reached the room and saw Keiko sitting beside the bed holding her mother's hand. "Keiko, is she okay?"

She turned to look at me with a sad smile, "They said she overworked herself and she will be fine, but I can't leave her alone here. Father is tending the store because we need the money..." I walked behind her, putting my arm around her shoulders.

"It will be alright..." I could feel Yusuke nearby again...He seemed worried... _But she will be fine...why?_ And then I realized. "Keiko. I don't think Yusuke has much time left. I think he needs you more right now."

She looked at me in shock, then back to her mother, I knew her hesitation. "Hey I will stay here with her. She won't be alone. Go save Yusuke." I gave her a reassuring smile, and she left the room in a rush. I sat down in her vacated seat, and held her mother's hand. I could barely feel her energy. She was really weak.

I glanced around the room, and got up to close the door, then I sat back down. _Well, let's see how much I can heal while maintaining this form._ I put both my palms on her upper chest, and forced my energy into her, I could feel her energy returning as I got weaker. After a few moments, I could feel warm liquid trailing from my nose to my lips. I raised my hand and pulled it away to see my own blood. _So that is what happens if I push my energy too far._ I grabbed some tissues from the bedside table and wiped away the blood. I felt Ms. Yukimura's arm again, and found that she was much stronger. She should just be in a normal sleep now. I rubbed her skin with my thumb. _Now I am the one who needs a nap. I hope this works and Yusuke comes back... I miss my tail..._

I was lying my head on the bed, trying to hibernate slightly to regenerate my energy on its own. I didn't want to have to pull energy from someone in a hospital. It feels wrong. As I was starting to feel normal again, I felt Ms. Yukimura begin to awaken. "Keiko?" She asked.

"No, it's just me, Tsuki." She opened her eyes and smiled at me. "They thought Yusuke might wake up from his coma today, and I told Keiko she should be there for him. The doctors said you would be asleep for at least four more hours. I guess you showed them." I smiled at her as she sat up.

"Yusuke might wake up today? That is wonderful news! Keiko and Atsuko will both be so happy."

"Yeah. It will be nice to see them really smile again. Sorry you had to wake up with just me here, though."

"Oh, Tsuki, you know that you are like my daughter now too. I had one child and ended up with three." I couldn't help but smile at her words. In a way, she was the closest thing I have had to a mother in three millennia.

"But still. I am not the best company. I doubt the hospital will let you out early just because you woke up and asked them to."

"Yeah, they probably won't believe that I suddenly feel better than I have in years." a smile crossed her face, "Oh, there are usually playing cards in the drawer, we can do that to pass the time, if you don't have anywhere else you would rather be."

I smiled and opened the drawer, sure enough there was a brand new package of cards. I opened them up, and she sat up in the bed, sitting cross-legged but still under the covers. She gestured to the end of the bed, wanting me to mirror her, so I obliged. We sat across from each other as we discussed what to play.

* * *

 **Kurama**

I was walking with my mother in the hospital as we were leaving her appointment. No good news. Just more of the same. She didn't have much time left and she wasn't improving. If I wasn't sure about using the Forlorn Hope to save her before, I definitely was now. It was my only option.

As we walked through the hall of mostly vacant patient rooms, I heard a voice that I didn't expect. I almost thought I imagined it, but as we walked it only got louder. I heard the voice of an older woman first, "Oh yeah! Twenty-One!"

Then I heard her voice, "Oh come on, you have got to be kidding me! That's like, four in a row. I know you are cheating. It's fine. Just tell me your secrets."

"Tsuki dear, I am not cheating. I would never do such a thing! It's purely a coincidence."

"Four times!? No, coincidences don't work like that!"

I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder, I didn't even realize I had stopped walking until that moment. "Shuichi dear, do you know those people? Do you want to say hello?" I turned to look at her, and she was smiling sweetly. She had always expressed concern that I didn't have friends at school. I told her I did, but I knew she doubted their existence because she had never met any of them. I suppose this was my chance, since Tsuki was the closest thing I had to a friend.

"Yes mother, if it's okay, I'd like to make sure everything is alright." She beamed at me. Yes this was the right decision. She wanted to meet a friend of mine. I stepped into the doorway, lightly knocking on the wood, with Mother by my side. She raised her eyes from her hand of cards and looked at me with a smile.

"Oh, hello Shuichi!" Her voice was almost musical, "I told you about my friend Keiko, this is her mother Ms. Yukimura. She worked too hard and fainted at work, and now she is stuck here. " She gestured to the older woman on the bed, who was looking at Tsuki with such affection. "Ms. Yukimura, this is a friend from school Shuichi Minamino, and I am sure the lovely lady beside him is his mother" She smiled at my mother, and I am not sure I have ever seen mother quite so happy.

"You are correct." I turned to Mother, "Mother, this is Tsuki Hamagi, she recently transferred to my school and we quickly became friends."

"It is wonderful to meet you, Ms. Hamagi, I am Ms. Minamino."

"Oh just Tsuki is fine."

The older woman on the bed chimed in, "If you aren't in a hurry to be somewhere you are welcome to join us. Any friend of Tsuki's is a friend of mine. She is like a daughter to me, you know. Even if she is terrible at blackjack." She laughed, and Tsuki glared playfully at her,

"I am not terrible, you just cheat."

I began to speak, "We appreciate the offer, but we really should be -"

My mother cut me off with a gentle hand on my arm, "We would love to, I have never had the pleasure of meeting any of Shuichi's friends." Hesitantly, I grabbed two chairs from against the wall, and pulled them near the bed where the women sat.

"I am glad it isn't just me. I think the only reason my daughter Keiko ever let me meet her friends was because we have a restaurant."

"Oh, so that is the secret! I never knew!"

"You just gotta be careful, because once you feed them, they never leave and then you realize you have three kids for the price of one." Ms. Yukimura and my mother were submerged in their conversation, so I just looked across to Tsuki who was smiling to herself. "I am just happy to finally have another mother to talk about things like this with." Tsuki turned to glare at Ms. Yukimura, and I think she understood. "I may get to see Keiko's friends, but I don't get to see their parents much, I think it would be too embarrassing." She laughs and my mother joins in,

"Isn't it part of the job to embarrass them though?" She chuckled lightly, and I could hear the underlying sound of her coughs trying to come through. Then a tall man stepped through the door,

"Looks like I am late for the party. Where is Keiko?" The man looked to Ms. Yukimura, I could only assume that this must have been Mr. Yukimura.

"They thought Yusuke might wake up today, she is with him." The woman answered, and the man smiled.

"That is good news. How are you feeling dear?"

"I feel better than I have in years honestly! I don't know what those doctors did, but I feel like I could run a marathon now!" The woman exclaimed, and I could see Tsuki tense up. _But why? Did she have something to do with this? Can she use that energy of hers for healing?_ The woman turned to Tsuki, "You should head home now dear. Hiro must be worried." The woman glanced out the window and must have just now noticed how dark it was outside. "Oh but it's late, you shouldn't walk home by yourself."

Tsuki stood up from the bed, "It's fine, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. But I appreciate the thought."

I watched my mother stand also. I knew exactly what she was thinking, sometimes she was too kind. "We need to be going anyway, we can drop her off wherever she wants on our way home." Tsuki turned to my mother,

"Oh no, Ms. Minamino, I appreciate the thought, but I couldn't impose on you. I can go home by myself. I promise." She looked concerned for my mother. A woman she hardly knew. I could feel myself getting even more attached to the girl.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Please, let me do this. You are the first friend of Shuichi's I have ever met, and I would love to drive you home." I could hear the roughness in her throat, this was becoming too much for her.

Tsuki reached forward, taking my mother's hands in hers. I felt her energy spike as she began to speak, "Thank you Ms. Minamino. I really appreciate your kindness." She smiled as she dropped my mother's hands, and I felt the energy ebb away as quickly as it appeared.

"You are such a sweet girl, Tsuki" I almost didn't notice the richness of her voice, it was the strongest I have heard her speak in months. My mother and I turned to leave the room, letting Tsuki follow behind us.

"I'll make sure Keiko is okay. You two take care of yourselves, alright?" I heard her say to the two adults in the room, and I could faintly smell her blood, I casually glanced behind me to her as she closed the door of the hospital room, she was holding a tissue to her nose. It would have appeared normal if I couldn't have smelled the blood. Whatever she did to help my mother had hurt her in return. _But why? She has nothing to gain from helping my mother, so why would she care?_

As I walked in between Tsuki and my mother, I couldn't help but notice the change in her heart rate. She always walked with such vigor. But now she seemed tired. I leaned towards her as we approached my mother's vehicle. "Are you okay?" She turned to me surprised. She probably thought she was putting on a believable disguise.

"Yeah. Just tired. It's been a long day." She was trying to convince me she was fine, but the way her voice sounded, only assured me that she wasn't. I opened the car door for my mother, and helped her inside, and then I did the same for Tsuki, except when she grabbed my hand, I felt the familiar flow of energy, but it felt different somehow, almost like my energy was flowing into her, but not all of it was returning to me. When she let go and I got in my own seat, we began to drive. I realized I was much wearier than I was before. _She took my energy to recuperate herself after she used her own to heal my mother. I wasn't even aware spirit energy could be used like that. My mother didn't even notice. Can I only feel it because I am a demon?_

I was faintly aware of Tsuki giving my mother directions as I was lost in my thoughts. _If she is this spiritually aware, does she already know what I am? No...if she knew she wouldn't care for me like she does._

I felt the car come to a stop, and I looked out the window. "A Martial Arts studio?"

"Yep. My grandpa owns it. I live here with him..." I heard her open the car door, "Thank you so much for the ride Ms. Minamino. I really appreciate it, and it was wonderful to meet you." I heard her step out of the car and proceed towards the door just as some students were exiting the Dojo. A tall man in a gui and what appeared to be a blue belt stepped outside. He looked at Tsuki, and charged. Tsuki stopped in her tracks and _sighed?_ I saw the large man running at her, and for a moment I was scared for her. I knew my mother was. "Shuichi, shouldn't you do something?" She asked me, fearfully.

"Something tells me this happens a lot." I replied to her. And just as I thought, just as he was about to land a hit on her, she sidestepped slightly, and used his own momentum to throw him to the ground. She didn't even look at him, just kept walking, I could faintly hear her call over her shoulder,

"Better luck next time, Matsuda."

I turned to look at my mother who seemed both shocked and impressed. "I guess she really meant it when she said she could take care of herself." I chuckled, I could tell the difference in my mother. She seemed to feel better, at least for the time being.

"Yeah. She is full of surprises." I smiled, watching her enter the dojo as the car pulled away.

"I like her Shuichi...I think you do too." She spoke softly, never taking her eyes from the road, but still keeping that sweet smile on her face,

"It is more complicated than it seems, Mother."

She laughs, and for the first time in months, I didn't hear it begin to turn into a cough, "If you like her, and she likes you. That is all that matters...everything else is just...details."

"I'll think about it Mother."

* * *

 **Luna**

After the car pulls away, I change into normal clothes, and head towards Yusuke's new place. I knock on the door, and Atsuko answers the door, her face stained with tears, and her shirt stained with alcohol. She beams at me, and I know it worked, she steps out of the doorway and I see Yusuke and Keiko sitting in his room, watching a video on TV. Her arm is thrown over him, and her head is nestled in his shoulder. When they notice me, they scramble away from each other, trying to pretend they weren't cuddling.

"Well if it isn't my favorite dead-guy come back to life?"

Yusuke stands up and rushes over to me, and I embrace him in a hug. "Thank you Tsuki, for everything."

"Don't go getting all mushy on me, Yusuke. But you are welcome. I am just glad to see you back." He lets me go, and Keiko looks to me expectantly. "Your mom is fine. She woke up not long after you left. She made me leave once your dad got there. They won't let her leave until the morning. I told them I would make sure you were safe."

She smiled and nodded, and the three of us sat in front of the TV. Just like old times. "Oh and Yusuke, remember, you were accidentally declared dead, you were actually just in a coma. I have worked really hard to make everyone believe that. So don't go fucking up all my hard work with your big mouth."

He laughed, and I'll admit, it was really nice to hear it again. I couldn't imagine how happy Keiko must be to have him back from the dead. I just worry about what will change from here on out. Spirit World doesn't do anything for free.

* * *

As I sat in the tree outside Yusuke's apartment, I relished in the feeling of the wind whipping around my ears and through my tail. I looked through the window, watching him and Keiko cuddle in front of the TV; the colors illuminating them. They both fell asleep hours ago. I excused myself about an hour before that. Claiming that I was tired. And I was a little, from healing Keiko's and Shuichi's mothers. But thirty minutes of a nap and I was back to normal. I felt a little guilty for taking energy from Shuichi, but honestly I couldn't stop it. That energy connection seems to have a mind of its own. I had already taken some before I even realized what was going on. He didn't seem to notice.

It was probably a bad idea to heal her in front of everyone like that, but I knew it was my only chance. I knew I couldn't fix the problem. It was beyond the scope of my healing abilities even if I was in my actual form I couldn't have fixed her, but I could help ease the symptoms and make her feel better. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing when she was being so kind to me. If I could ease her pain, I was going to do it... But why are they so kind to me? It's not just Keiko... all of these humans are such good people. I really don't understand.


	9. Live in Vain

" _If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain." -Emily Dickinson_

The next day I walked Keiko to school, Yusuke was skipping, playing the "I don't wanna spend my first day back alive going to that hellhole." For once, Keiko didn't fight him. She was still ecstatic over having him back. Things seemed relatively normal, until I got to my own school, and there was a certain redhead who was skipping as well. From the sounds of the whispers, he never missed school. I worried that it was his mother, but I knew from the energy I gave her she should at least have a few more weeks to hold on. I knew something was up. I just had no idea what. I went to class as normal, I even went to our table near the greenhouse. It felt wrong not to. I missed him. Talking with him at lunch was the only thing that made coming to this school worth it.

After the long day of silence and solitude, I met up with Keiko and I walked her home as I normally do. She said she had a lot of homework to do, so I decided to head towards home myself. I expected to run into Yusuke, but I didn't find him. Until I made it back to the dojo that is. He was waiting outside the door. He seemed uncharacteristically serious.

"Yusuke, what is wrong?"

"I needed to talk to you about something..." I could tell from the tone, and the fact that he sought me out without Keiko meant that he wanted to talk about something supernatural.

I stepped beside him and opened the door, kicking off my shoes, and heading up to my room. Yusuke silently followed, I pulled out the chair from my desk, and he sat, while I sat on my bed. "What is up?"

"How much do you know about spirit world?" _I knew it._

"Probably a lot more than you do...Why, what is going on?"

"They told me I am the new Spirit Detective." Yusuke stated rather solemnly. _I figured something was coming but not that. From what I heard, the last one didn't exactly end on good terms._

"Holy shit. That's a big job, Yusuke...wait, they ' _told you'_ as in ' _they didn't give you a choice?'"_

"Yeah. musta been in the fine print of getting my life back."

"I figured something like this would happen, spirit world has never done anything for anyone that didn't somehow benefit them. But they wouldn't have picked you if they didn't think you could handle it."

"I don't know if I can fight monsters, Tsuki."

"Is that what they told you?" I scoffed, "Demons come in all shapes, sizes and personalities, Yusuke. They can be good or bad, just like humans. Don't let spirit world tell you otherwise. You have always had a talent for fighting Yusuke, and with your death experience, you will have an even better connection to your spirit energy. They will train you. They will help you. You will be fine. Just don't let them _change_ you. Don't do something you know is wrong just because they told you to." I leaned back, I could tell he was listening to everything I was saying. I wasn't used to him being this serious. "Do you work for King Yama?"

"No, his son Koenma."

"I haven't heard much about him. That is probably a good thing for you. Have you had any cases yet?"

"I found a little demon inhabiting a human, that is when they told me about all of this. They said I will get my first real case soon. Probably tomorrow."

"I know I make it seem bad, but they aren't awful Yusuke. You'll be protecting people from harm. But just follow your heart, and if something feels wrong, don't do it."

"Are they really that bad?"

"Demons? Most of them, yeah. Demons do some real fucked up shit. I mean, humans do too, but demons are usually much stronger. For a demon, It is easier to be bad than to be good."

"And most of them hate humans?"

"Yeah, its pretty much a rule of thumb to assume a demon will hate humans, the ones who don't are such a minority that they are almost negligible. But it doesn't make them all bad."

"I see...I have another question." He leaned forward, and I gestured for him to continue. "The grim reaper said that Hiro was a psychic for spirit world. Does he have special powers or anything?"

I laughed, "Yeah, sort of. We both do. Runs in the family. Works differently for each of us though. Once you get yours we can go deeper into it, alright? And if you need help, or need to talk about any of this Spirit World shit, you are more than welcome to come by. Now go see Keiko. She missed you today."

"She did?"

"She always misses you when you aren't there, Yusuke." I pat his back as we head out of my room. As we head through the dojo I hear Hiro call,

"Good to see you alive again, Yusuke!"

"Thanks, old man!" Yusuke yelled back as he headed out the door.

I sat on the couch next to Hiro. "They made him Spirit Detective."

He paused the game he was playing and turned to me, "Well, fuck."

"I know."

"What will you do now?"

I put my head in my hands. "I don't know, work a hell of a lot harder, I am guessing."

"If you need to tell him what I did...before. You can..." I turned to look at him, dropping my hands back to my lap. "I always thought you saved me because I could be useful later. A demon hunter for spirit world owing his life to a demon? It was almost comical. But then you show up here at my home, over a hundred years later, and you ask me to help you pretend to be human so you can protect a little girl and I...realized I was wrong. The whole time. My whole life. I was wrong about demons, and most importantly I was wrong about you. I am sorry... You are a better human than most humans I have ever known."

"Hiro, I don't know what to say..."

"I know you think I quit hunting and cut my ties to spirit world because I couldn't hunt demons now that I was one. But that's not true... I started to question my orders. If the demons I was tasked with killing deserved to die, and truthfully, they didn't. I told spirit world I would consult, and help if I felt it was right. But I would work on my own terms. They agreed."

"Hiro I-" He cut me off again,

"I know you have done more awful things than I can possibly imagine, but I know that you are good too. Even if we are only fake family, I still feel like it's true."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I saved him all those years ago because he reminded me of Geralt and he had so much to live for. I knew he always resented me for it. I had no idea...So I did the only thing I could do. I shifted, and I hugged him, as the real me. I felt his arms wrap around me in return and I smiled. "Hiroshi?" I felt him tense, "My name is Luella."

He gripped me tighter, and I swear, I almost cried.

* * *

On the way to school the next morning, I walked with Keiko until We caught up with Yusuke, scaring some fellow students. They began to bicker as they usually do, and I took that as my cue to let them walk the rest of the way on their own. I made it to my own school early, but to my chagrin, my favorite redhead was missing again. I felt a lot more disappointment than I care to admit. It was another long day in solitude, a few of the braver students had the nerve to come up and ask me if I knew where Shuichi had gone, since I was one of the few people he often spoke to. I had to tell them that I had no more of an idea than they did.

When I met up with Keiko I was surprised to find her without our resident spirit detective. "Where is Yusuke?"

Judging by the scowl that spread across her face, he skipped out early. "He left early. Again. He will never pass if he keeps going like this." I gave her a sympathetic smile, but I had a feeling that this was because of his new job he didn't sign up for. I just hoped he was okay. Surely spirit world wouldn't make him do anything too dangerous for his first mission right?

I spent most of the afternoon with Keiko, helping her and her parents in the restaurant, and generally spending time with her. We hadn't heard from Yusuke. I could tell she was worried. I was too. So when I left later that night, I shifted and traveled through the trees to Yusuke's building. Looking in the window, I saw him lying on his bed, he seemed bandaged and bruised, but alive. _Fuckin' hell Yusuke. Be careful. I don't want to have to follow you around and make sure you don't get killed. Again._

I sat in the tree, rubbing my ears with my hands, _I don't even know who to watch anymore..._ I could feel my claws digging into my scalp, at least they are a distraction. I was also worried about Shuichi and his mother, should I go check and make sure? If I go by the hospital and she is there, that should answer my question. Yeah...Let's do that, and then I will decide who to watch for the night. The route to the hospital goes much faster when I can move as a demon. After looking through several windows, I finally found what I was looking for. Ms. Minamino was in a patient room, and Shuichi was right at her bedside, holding her hand. He looked so sad. It sort of broke my heart. I watched as she began to cough violently, and Shuichi's concern only grew. An older man and a younger child entered the room. _Husband and other son perhaps?_ No...Shuichi treats them more casually than he does his mother, and the man looks nothing like Shuichi, it couldn't be his father. He must be a boyfriend, and his corresponding child from a previous marriage. She was just finding love again. This really isn't fair. I watch as the man and Shuichi's mother try to convince him to leave. They aren't facing the window, and I am far too distant to hear, but I can tell that he doesn't want to leave. They are insisting. He eventually concedes and goes with the man and other child. As soon as she is alone, Shuichi's mother begins to cough violently, as if she were holding it so as not to worry her son. She is in pain again. _Fuck..._

I head towards the entrance, and lucky for me, a nurse was leaving her shift, I shifted to her appearance and headed into the hospital and up towards Ms. Minamino's room. On my way in, I grabbed her file from the nurse's station. Shiori Minamino. 39. Congenital heart failure, made even worse by the onset of pneumonia. Prognosis is terminal. _Fuck. It's not any sort of injury, It's not something I can just fix. She has no familiarity with the supernatural, turning her would be even more cruel than just letting her die. Ugh._

I stepped into her room, I tried not disturb her, but she was already awake. "Hello Ms. Minamino, how are you feeling?" I asked as I stepped into the room, trying to play the role of nurse as well as possible. She tried to answer me, but she began to cough again, I advanced towards her, "Don't strain yourself, I am going to give you something to help with your symptoms." I grabbed her arm, like I was adding something to her IV, but instead I just forced my energy into her, I turned away from her as my nose began to bleed, but I kept up the transfer. I wanted to make sure she could spend her last few days pain free, not having to strain herself to hide her pain from her son. I kept going until I started to feel dizzy. If I gave her any more I wouldn't be able to maintain this form, much less make it out of here unnoticed. I advanced towards her bathroom, muttering something about checking on her towels. I entered the small hospital bathroom and closed the door, looking into the mirror. I looked _awful._ I looked like an even worse Andrew W.K. because not only was there thick blood coming from my nose, but also my ears, and as I blinked, I realized it was about to come from my eyes as well. My hands were shaking as I grabbed the napkins and began to rub the blood from myself. I noticed my disguise was fading too. It wasn't the face of that nurse anymore. It was my real face. Minus the ears and fangs. But they were my eyes. My features. I didn't think it would matter that much. Even if she could describe me to someone, there would be nobody who could identify me from my description.

Once I was blood free, I readjusted my nurses cap, and tossed all the bloody napkins in the biohazard bin. I exited the room with a smile on my face, and I was met with one too. Shiori was beaming at me, "I don't know what you did, but I feel better than I have in months. Thank you..." I sat in the chair next to her. "Don't you need to get back to work?"

I smiled, always thinking of others, no wonder Shuichi loves her as much as he does. "I am actually off duty. I was going to stay here and talk to you until you fell asleep. I know you don't want your family to see you hurting, but that doesn't mean you should be alone."

She gave me a knowing smile, "I know you didn't put anything in my IV. You just touched me. Are you a healer?" _She was too smart for her own good._

I couldn't help but laugh, "Sort of. I can't fix your disease. But I can make it hurt less."

"You aren't a real nurse are you?" She smiled, and I just smiled back, figured it was better if I didn't confirm it. "It's okay. I know you aren't here to hurt me. Whatever you did made me feel better than I have in a long time, and I am so thankful. How long will it last?"

"It should last a while. I tried really hard to make it last a while."

"Why me? You could have picked anyone in this hospital to help. Why did you pick me?" She reached forward and placed her hand over mine. Her hand was warm. It was comforting.

"You are a kind person Shiori. You try so hard to keep your son from seeing you in pain, because you know it hurts him...You deserve better than this. I wish I could fix it for you...and for your son."

"Shuichi is the best part of my life. He is the one thing I know I have done right. He is so kind, and so smart. Knowing he will hurt when I am gone hurts me more than any part of this disease. He worries about me so much. Almost like he is the adult and I am the child. I wish he didn't have to see any of this...feel any of this. Any time I try to comfort him it just seems to make him hurt even more. I am trying to pretend it isn't happening so he doesn't have to see it. But I know he sees it anyway. He was always so perceptive."

I laugh lowly, because I know how true that really is. "Am I the first person you have talked to about this?"

"Yes. I feel like you understand. You have kind eyes."

"You are the second person to tell me that...and it's funny, because most people would say I am anything but kind. I haven't led the noblest of lives. I am trying to be better. Trying to help people. But then there are people like you, Shiori. Good, kind, people who I can't save no matter how hard I try." I feel her grip tighten on my hand, and she is looking at me with such sincerity.

"That is what matters. That you try. You can move beyond whatever past you have had and try to be a better person moving forward. You can't save everyone. You don't have to. Helping one person means the world to that one person, even if it only a moment in your life."

"But what if I am only being kind to assuage my own guilt about something?"

"Your reasons don't matter to the person you help. I know you probably have some reason for being here other than just helping me feel better before I die, and that is okay. I am just happy that you tried to help."

"You know, I don't think I do." I chuckle to myself, flipping my hand over so that we are really holding hands. "I think this is the first time I have helped someone because I wanted to. Not because of selfish gains, or an old tradition. Not because I felt guilty for something I did, or wanted to do. And I am not trying to prove anything to anyone by being here." I look at her teary eyes, encouraging me to continue, "This is the first time I have wanted to help someone just to help someone, and it doesn't even matter, because there is nothing I can do."

"No. You are wrong." She rubs her thumb across my hand, the same way that Shuichi does when he tries to convince me of something. "You have done so much. You have taken my pain away. I know that I will still die soon, but you have given me moments with my son that will feel real to the both of us. You have given up time of your life to talk with a woman whom you don't even know, and you have given me the chance to convince you that you _are_ a kind person...Mothers love teaching their children life lessons, and I know that you aren't my child, and even though you look so young, your eyes tell me that you are far older and wiser than you seem. I want you to know how much I appreciate you for what you have done for me. How much I _love_ you for it. You may not always be able to help people, but as long as you try, you are making a difference in somebody's life."

"How did this change from me helping you, to you helping me?" She laughed, and it was such a sweet sound.

"Such is the talent of a mother." She pats my hand as she lets it go, "I am quite tired though, and I am looking forward to sleeping without coughing. But before you go, I would like to know your name."

"You can call me Luna...Sleep well, Shiori." I stand from the chair, and she smiles at me as she lays back down on the bed comfortably. I hit the main light as I exit the room, and just as I was about to close the door, I hear her call after me.

"Thank you Luna. You are a beautiful person." I smile as I close the door, and jump from the nearby window. I shift back to my regular form with what little energy I have left, and return to the tree outside Keiko's home. I see her sleeping soundly, and within a few moments, I am asleep myself.

* * *

The next day was another school day just like the last two. No Yusuke, No Shuichi, and a pissed off Keiko. Is this my life now? Wondering if Yusuke was eaten by a demon? Missing a human boy I have no reason to have feelings for? Assuring Keiko that Yusuke will go to school eventually, even though there is a good possibility he is being digested? Feeling useless because despite all the powers I have, I couldn't save the life of the mother of that boy I shouldn't have feelings for?

Sitting in the Yukimura's restaurant, listening to Keiko and her mother tell me how I should "definitely date that cute Minamino boy". Keiko is relaying every bit of information I have given her about him, while her mother is describing how cute he is in shockingly disturbing detail. I just stay silent and eat my noodles. Only replying when I absolutely have to, if only to give them the required "we are just friends" line. This feels entirely too domestic.

After I excused myself for the night, I made my way back into the sanctity of my tree. I have been sitting here frequently enough that it is starting to be comfortable again. I missed it while Yusuke was dead. I watched Keiko study for a while, before resigning to just listening for sounds of trouble. No need to intrude on her privacy if I don't have to. I laid my head back against the trunk of the tree, relishing in the familiarity of the bark brushing on the fur of my ears. After a few moments, I feel a presence in my head. "Hey Kuro."

"Hey Luna. Was just making sure you weren't busy before I bothered you."

"No, not busy. Yusuke is alive again, so I am watching Keiko from a tree."

"Wait, he is alive? You gotta fill me in on what I missed."

"Well, when I was with you, Keiko almost burned to death. That was fun... Oh, I almost let Shuichi kiss me. That would have made life more interesting. I learned that if I push my healing powers while disguised as a human, I begin to bleed from facial orifices. And Keiko kissed a golden Yusuke back to life, and now he is the new Spirit Detective."

"Holy fucking shit. Its like you are living in one of those human shows, the poorly acted ones on daytime television?"

"A soap opera?"

"Yeah! That's the thing! Except, you know. The demon equivalent. Because those aren't problems human housewives normally encounter...Who did you heal?"

"Keiko's mother, and Shuichi's mother. But she is still dying, and there is not a damn thing I can do about it. I gave her everything I could. I healed her until my eyes bled and my form faltered, but she is still dying. All these powers, and I couldn't even save one human life."

"You can heal injuries Luna...not cure diseases. There isn't anything you can do."

"Well there should be." I heard movement from Keiko's room, and saw that she was just getting ready for bed. I looked up at the moon, it was almost the full moon, I could feel the energy of it.

"I am proud of you, you know."

"Why is that?"

"Because you are caring about things -about people. Its nice to finally see you passionate about something. You have been living just to watch it all go by. Its no way to live your life."

"You are one to talk Kuro..."

"I am passionate about my revenge. You don't even have that. Maybe you should have let the dreamboat kiss you. Maybe it would kickstart that frozen heart of yours."

"You are an asshole."

"I know...did you know how hard it would be to infiltrate a government?"

"Well, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, even if you are more capable than the others I sent in."

"They are all so paranoid. It's like they think I am a spy or something."

"You _are_ a spy."  
"Well yeah, but they shouldn't know that. They are just overly paranoid. It is annoying."

"I guess that means you haven't found anything?"

"No. Nothing. I heard that some demons raided Spirit World's vault the other day. I was really impressed. That isn't an easy place to get into. My partner and I would talk about hitting that vault sometimes, but he always said that the rewards weren't worth the risk. There was nothing in there he wanted bad enough to die for it. These demons must have been really desperate...or crazy."

"Or both."

"True...So, did you want him to kiss you?"

"I don't know...Yes and no. This whole matter is a bad idea. He is a fifteen year old human. It doesn't matter that he is exceptionally intelligent."

"All just details, Luna. They don't really matter..."

"What about the fact that the second our lips met, he could have seen any number off atrocious crimes I have committed. And you know...that I am not really the person I pretend to be, but a demon."

"I thought you weren't faking around him?"

"I am still pretending to be a human. A lie by omission is still a lie."

"You tried to save his mother, you have to care about him a lot more than you are admitting to me, or to yourself."

"Yeah, well. It won't go anywhere, so what is the point?"

"You are such a pessimist. Live a little... He is human, you can just wipe his memories afterwards."

"No Kuro...Just no."

"You don't know how to have fun."

"That is rapey, and I am not comfortable with it."

"Oh yeah... You are right. Don't rape the guy. That would be bad."

"Go spy on someone, Kuro."

"Alright. Be safe. But not _too_ safe."

I laugh to myself, as I fall asleep, finding comfort at the almost full moon, and fighting the urge to howl.

* * *

Same shit, different day. Hiro told me he saw on the news that the kids who fainted had recovered. I knew Yusuke had something to do with it. He was pretty good at his job. However, he had still not come to school. Keiko and I walked alone, and she was still quite upset with him. Understandably, though. It's not like she knows he is off saving children from demons. When I made it to my own school, I wasn't surprised that Shuichi was still absent. The bag of notes and assignments I was keeping for him was getting to be quite inconveniently large. Honestly, I was doubting if he would ever return. If I were him, I wouldn't.

Instead of sitting alone at the bench I considered _ours_ I picked the lock on the greenhouse and went inside. The smells were still abrasive on my sensitive nose, and I glanced around at all the exotic plants and flowers. They weren't dead, but they were not as healthy as they were the last time I was brought in here. The plants were suffering from his absence as well... _Goddamn it, why did I miss him so much? Especially when he probably hasn't even thought of me once._

I exited the greenhouse, happy to be away from the stuffy humid air in the greenhouse. Away from the assault on the nose that existed in that small enclosure. I sat on my side of the bench, and read while I waited for lunch, and the rest of the school day, to end.

I met Keiko at the gates, she was still talking to Kuwabara and company. I was glad they could be there for her since Yusuke was too cool for school. "I see that he didn't even show up late today?" I was answered with a glare that served as my answer.

"I met him earlier this morning, and he said he was meeting someone somewhere today."

"Did he say anything else?"

"No...and I didn't care enough to ask."

I cocked a brow, "Yes you did."

"Okay, I did, but I wasn't about to let him know that. Ugh. He is so infuriating!"

"Well. He is a guy. So..."

"Do you want to spend the night tonight? We haven't done that in a while, and I could use the break from studying."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good. We can go by my place first and I will tell Hiro and grab the things I need."

As we enter the dojo, we kick off our shoes and see that class is still in session, I usually just miss it. I see that guy, Matsuda, again. He is older, seventeen-ish. Obviously has a crush on me. "Hey, Tsuki, you up for a rematch?!" He comes up to me, completely ignoring Keiko, if he wasn't unalluring enough, being rude to my friends is a sure way to piss me off.

"No Matsuda. I am just here to let Hiro know I will be staying at Keiko's tonight, and I need to grab some things."

Hiro perks up at the sound of his name, "Oh hello, Keiko, good to see you again. Keeping Yusuke in line?"

She laughs as I head up the stairs, "Trying and failing. You know how he is." I quickly throw my things in a bag, and head back downstairs. Matsuda has rejoined the class, maybe I was a bit too harsh. Maybe I should apologize.

"You can try to beat me later Matsuda. Tomorrow after school, perhaps?" I see him perk up. Maybe I was too nice.

"That sounds great, Tsuki! It's a date!"

"It's really not.." I mutter as Keiko and I exit the dojo and begin to head back to her home for our long night of gossip and skincare.


	10. Reason in Madness

~~~NOTES:~~

It's Monday. I know. I am sorry. Blame college and my fleeting will to do anything besides watch meaningless TV and daydream.

* * *

*" _There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." -Friedrich Nietzsche*_

The next morning, Keiko and I left for school from her house, and to both of our surprise, we met with Yusuke along the walk. "Finally going to school, Yusuke?" I ask, trying to diffuse the tension between he and Keiko.

"Yeah. For once I am not busy."

"Oh, because you have so much important work other than school?" Keiko can be quite snarky when she is mad.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" They stopped walking and turned to look at each other. This is getting ridiculous.

I put a hand on each of their shoulders and started walking again. "Now now you two. Be civil. Yusuke, you really should go to school, and Keiko, you should be supportive of his afternoon job."

"Job? What job?" Keiko asked, now I was also the target of her glare.

"It is sort of secretive. I only know about it, because I helped him get it. Once it is more set in stone, I am sure he will tell you all about it. Isn't that right Yusuke?" We both turned to look at him, and he gave us that grin.

"That's right!"

Once we got near the gates, Keiko turned to me, "If you aren't out here when I get here, I will assume that that Matsuda guy picked you up for your date." She giggled at me.

"Oh God, do you really think that is what he thought I meant?"

"If he is anything like a normal guy, I am sure that is what he thought."

"Well shit. Yeah, if he corners me, it may take a while to convince him we aren't a couple. If you don't want to wait I can just catch up with you."

"Sounds great, good luck with your two not-boyfriends!"

"Thanks! Good luck with yours!" She glared at me as I walked away laughing.

* * *

I walked into Meiou, and as soon as I stepped in the building I smelled him. As strongly as the first time we met. Absence makes the scents grow stronger? He was sitting in the hall, as he normally does. I walked up to him,

"Shuichi you are back! Is your mother okay? I haven't seen you since..." He looked up at me like he was shocked. I couldn't tell if he was shocked because I noticed he was gone, or because I was worried about his mother.

"Oh yes, actually there was a miracle of sorts. The doctors can't explain it, but she is expected to make a full recovery." He smiled at me so genuinely, and I couldn't stop the surprise that spread across my face.

"Just the symptoms, or..."

"No, her disease is gone. There is no logical explanation for it. Her symptoms went away several days before that, but the disease was still as prominent as ever, but yesterday, it disappeared as well."

I had no idea what to think. I knew this wasn't me. And it wasn't science. What could it have been? "Shuichi that is amazing. You must be so happy."

"I am. Thank you. She keeps talking about wanting to meet you again." He smiled, but it seemed fake again. _Are we really back to this?_

Before I could respond, the bell for class to start rang. "Oh, I almost forgot." I reached into my bag, and grabbed the folder I was keeping for him, "Here is all that you missed. I had to actually talk to another student to get the math notes." He stared at the folder and then back up at me, like he was surprised I had done this. "That's what friends do, right?"

He smiled, "Oh, yes it is." That faker, why was he doing this again? Why was he being so distant? We sat in class, and he flipped through the notes I had taken for him, seemingly catching up on what he had missed. I couldn't get over the situation. What could have possibly saved his mother? If she was close enough to death, that even my powers couldn't save her, the only other option would be life or death magic, but who would have been capable of it, if they even had an item to do it with?

* * *

We both headed towards our lunch spot, as we usually do, but he still felt so much colder. I decided to test just how far this frigidity went by waiting for him to speak first. We spent the entire lunch reading our respective books in silence. I was beginning to get a tad pissed off. This wall of silence continued the entire day. At the end of the day, I briefly considered slowing my usual swift departure from the campus, just to see if he said anything, but I determined that that was frivolous as well. I headed out the door of the school, but stopped dead in my tracks.

"Oh fucking hell" I muttered to myself as I noticed Matsuda, who was standing just inside the gates wearing nice denims and a blazer and holding a rose. _Oh goddamn it._ I kicked the pavement, wondering how to get out of this while still pretending to be a civilized human being. And then he saw me, and started a brisk walk towards me with a goofy grin on his face. I didn't know whether to smile or not, so I just stared him down.

"Hey Tsuki, I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked or if you even liked flowers, but this is for you." He held the rose out to me, and I sort of cringed. It wasn't my proudest moment.

"Matsuda listen, I meant that we could _fight_ again... At the dojo... When i got back there today... I am very flattered, but I just don't see you in this way..."

I saw his face fall, and I almost felt a little guilty, but then his sadness seemed to turn to something more like anger, as he clutched the stem of the rose in his hand "Why not me, huh?"

"You're just not my type... I uh..." I was running out of rejection lines, and it didn't seem to be working. I was about to resort to just punching him and stepping over his body when I smelled the familiar scent of demonid roses, and the oh-so pleasant tingle of lithe fingers slipping around my waist. I turned to see Shuichi, clutching me confidently against his side. He smiled down at me, and this one actually appeared to be real.

"Tsuki, you forgot your folder. I thought you might need it." He said it so coolly, it didn't even sound like the him I was used to. This was more like a tone a predator would use on their prey. He handed me the folder I had given him earlier, and he made sure that his fingers brushed mine as he handed it to me.

"Oh, Thank you Shuichi, I completely forgot."

Matsuda, who was watching this display of territory with nothing less than fiery disdain, finally spoke. "So, I am not your type, but this guy is? He is almost like a girl!" He was yelling now. I think we broke him. He began to squeeze the poor rose, but I swiftly removed it from his grip.

"No need to take your insecurities out on the flora, Matsuda. And seeing as how you have yet to even _touch_ me in a fight, you are hardly in a position to judge the men I choose to spend my time with." I gently slip the slightly bruised rose into Shuichi's uniform pocket, "Go home Matsuda. Its nothing personal. I expect to see you in class tomorrow." I said sternly, and he appeared to finally calm, before nodding and slinking away.

I turn to face Shuichi, "I appreciate your help, but I have someone to meet." I smiled as I took off in a run towards Sarayashiki, I reached the gates, and I saw that she wasn't there. _She must have really meant the whole 'not waiting for me' thing._ I knew how much time I had wasted with Matsuda, so I knew if I ran I should catch up with her fairly quickly. I traced our path home in a jog, when I was stopped by the scent of blood. I looked down and saw a single drop on the pavement. I knelt down, and used my finger to bring it to my nose. _It was hers...Fuccckkkk!_

I glanced around to make sure there was nobody around, and then I shifted, before bringing her blood to my nose again. I got a good idea of the scent, and the tracking began. I followed the small droplets of her blood across town, and to a building on the wharf, I could hear a commotion inside, so I peeked through the window. I saw Yusuke fighting a demon, _Jagan demon from the looks of it,_ And Keiko on the ground with a blue haired-girl, who was using her spirit energy on Keiko, to stop a demonic eye. I could tell the blue haired girl didn't have enough power to slow down Keiko's transformation for long. I had to get in there. Hopefully, I could keep my cover intact if I went in as Tsuki, and if Yusuke fails, I will just kill the demon myself to save Keiko.

I jumped to the ground, changed back to Tsuki, and ran inside. I ran into a slide right next the blue haired girl,

"You're Tsuki, what are you doing here-"

"Not really the most important thing right now!" I exclaimed, extending my hands and using my energy to slow the progression of Keiko's new eye. I saw it get closer to closed, and I knew I just had to maintain this and hope that Yusuke could stop the demon.

The demon seemed to finally acknowledge my presence, and he could see that I was using my powers against him. He could probably also sense it. It was much harder to hide my energy when I was using it.

"Oh look, you have another human girl Yusuke...but at least this one has some powers. She, too, will make a fine addition to my demon army."

The blue haired girl spoke too, "Yusuke, Tsuki and I can't hold off the transformation forever, you need to stop him and get that sword!"

I decided to speak too, since everyone else was doing it. "Yeah Yusuke, don't make me come up there and stop him myself. I will if I have to, but I really don't want to. " I heard him chuckle like I was joking, but honestly, that was one of the most truthful things that had left my mouth in a very long time.

I listened to them continue to fight and trashtalk one another, I was only vaguely aware of what was said. I was otherwise preoccupied on trying to keep Keiko from becoming a low class demon. I heard him mention using his full demon form, but it didn't really register until I was hit with the smell. It was potent. You could tell it was from a Jagan implant, he reeked of surgical supplies and desperation. I heard more fighting, looking for signs of Yusuke's impending defeat so I knew if I had to step in.

"I can end your life now, or if you prefer, I'll make you into a demon...What's that...you want me to choose?" I caught the faint smell of those roses through the stench of the Jagan, and so I looked up. "Fine!" I saw Shuichi impaled on the end of the demon's sword, right in front of Yusuke. Then Yusuke spoke, "Kurama?"

"You really have gone insane!" The demon yelled, and then Shuichi sliced his hand on the sword, and threw his blood in the demon's Jagan Eye.

 _What the actual fuck is going on here?_ I heard the girl beside me yelp, and I returned my gaze to Keiko, the eye was trying even harder to open, I couldn't be distracted. I focused my energy even harder, and I could feel the blood beginning to drip from my nose. I vaguely heard Shuichi's voice mention a 'minor hole in his stomach' _Oh great. A fucking funny guy._ Then I heard him say "I will use my powers to keep the girl from transforming."

With that I heard the footsteps of him advancing towards us. I heard him stop, and I knew he had realized who I was. "Tsuki? What are you-"

I looked up, and I saw him looking at me in shock, clutching the bleeding wound on his stomach. "I could ask you the same thing _Kurama,_ but we have bigger issues to worry about right now. He extended a hand towards Keiko, and I could see his energy entwining with Botan's and mine. It was weaker, it wasn't meant for this like mine was. "Are you even a healer?" I snapped at him, a bit harsher than I intended,

"Not really, but I-"

I cut him off. I was so sick of all this shit. "Then you are better off as a fucking battery. Give me your hand." I risked a glance at him, and he was shocked, but he followed my orders, I placed my right hand in his, and began to pull from his energy to amplify my healing capabilities. "Pull away when you start to feel weak. I can't focus on how much energy you have when I am trying to save her."

"Alright." He gripped my hand tighter, and I had to step up my healing to keep up with the progression of her eye. I really hoped Yusuke could stop him. Siphoning Shuich..er... _Kurama's_ energy was helping. But my nose was still bleeding. In a moment my ears would be too.

I felt Kurama drop my hand. I knew he wouldn't last long with with abdominal wound. I didn't want him to die because of all this too... I returned both hands to Keiko, giving it everything I had. I felt the blood in my hair that meant my ears were bleeding too.

Then I saw a bright blue light, and heard Yusuke yell "Spirit gun!" _Yelling the name of your move. How classy._ Then I heard a crack, and moments later, the pained yell of the demon, Hiei...some more chatter, and then Yusuke headed over to us, holding the hilt of the sword in his hand. He knelt beside her, and poured a drop of the antidote into Keiko's mouth. We watched as the eye faded away, and I leaned back, finally taking a breath. Yusuke finally looked at me. "Uh...Tsuki. Your eyes are bleeding."

If my hands weren't shaking, I would have strangled him. "Yusuke, I assure you... I am _aware..."_

"Tsuki, are you..." Kurama tried to speak to me, and I turned to glare at him.

"I can't even keep my hands still right now, I am sure as _shit_ not ready to process why the _fuck_ you are here. Just give me a minute for fucks sake... talk amongst yourselves."

I managed to pull my legs and hands up into a meditative pose and tried to collect myself to regain my energy. I could faintly hear them speaking.

"So, how do you feel, Kurama?"

"I avoided the organs at least."

I tried to tune them out, and focus on my regeneration. I could hear them bickering still. Picking up the occasional word or sentence. I could think clearly again, and keep from shaking, so I began to relax.

"So, Kurama, you and Tsuki, know each other?"

"We go to the same school. We were sort of friends...or we were. I don't know if we will be now."

I opened my eyes, and began to wipe the blood off of my face and onto my clothing. I cleared my throat, and all three people turned to look at me, "Okay Yusuke, let's start with you... Keiko has been the best friend of the granddaughter of a renowned and feared demon-hunter for about two years now. Absolutely no problems. You...are spirit detective for _three fucking days_ and I am here bleeding from my Goddamn eyeballs to keep Keiko from turning into a demon on the dirty floor of a warehouse that smells like rotting fish." I could practically taste the venom on my tongue. I was too tired to remain rational.

"Wait, Hiro is a demon hunter?"

"He was. He retired when he realized the demons spirit world was sending him after weren't really bad people. But that isn't the point!" I could feel my anger. I pinched my nose.

"Okay so let see how much of this I can figure out on my own...I love a good mystery." I turn to look at Kurama. "You are Kurama...as in _Yoko Kurama?"_

He nods, "How have you-" I cut him off with a single raised finger.

"Shhh. no follow ups until I am done...You, Hiei and another demon are the three that busted into spirit world's vault..." He nodded again. The blue haired girl, I think Yusuke called her Botan, spoke up,

"How did you know about-" I held up a finger to her.

"I know people..." I turned back to Kurama, "You wanted the Forlorn Hope to save your mother?" He nods again, "Then why are you still here? Magic items that give life always require death. Those are the rules."

"Yusuke tried to give his own life when I made my wish. The mirror rewarded his bravery by only taking half of each of our life energy."

"I see. And Hiei was the last demon, because you already took care of the third, which is why you were all beat to hell and skipping school earlier this week." Yusuke nodded. And I let out a sigh. "Okay. I have processed everything. Follow-up questions may be asked at this time."

Yusuke spoke first, "Why were your eyes bleeding?"

"Over exertion of my healing powers. I can also manipulate minds to some extent. Which Kurama has seen on occasion."

Botan was next, "How did you know about the vault?"

"Let's just say Hiro and I have friends in demon world...We hear things."

I turn to look at Kurama, who is clutching his wound. I move to be beside him, before hovering my hands over his wound, and focusing on healing him.

"No you don't have to..." His voice sounded strained, but also guilty.

"Listen, I recover quickly. Much quicker than you will if you don't let me heal this up." I place my hands on his stomach, and that familiar tingle between us before I begin to push my energy into him. His wound begins sealing up quickly..."You don't have any questions?" I turn to look at him, his piercing green eyes meeting mine.

"Did you know?" He spoke so quietly, I barely heard it.

"That you were a demon? No. Not until a few minutes ago... Did you know what I was?"

"I knew you seemed different and that you had interesting energy...but I never thought..." I gave him a solemn smile. I knew what he meant. His wound was almost sealed up completely when my nose began to bleed again.

"There... almost done. You should be able to heal it pretty quick from here."

"Thank you..."

"No problem. It's what friends do, right?" I knew I might be too harsh, but he had basically just admitted he was only speaking to me because he saw me as a threat. I had been through a lot, but that hurt more than I thought it would. The look on his face meant that he had received my intended message. I stood and turned to Yusuke and Botan, "Can you take care of her? If her parents see me like this, the _best case_ scenario is that they think I have been doing massive amounts of cocaine."

Yusuke nods. "Thanks for having my back today, Tsuki."

"No problem. I told you I would. A little warning would be nice though." I smile at him, and I make my way out of the building.

* * *

I step back into the dojo, I walked all the way back as a human, just in case one of them was following me. Hiro was there alone,

"Jesus, Luna, you are covered in blood, whose is that?"

"It's mine."

"Are you alright?"

"I've been better... I need a shower...and a nap."

"Is everyone else alright?"

"Yeah. Everything is fine." I head up the stairs for a quick shower, and then retreat to my room to prepare for a little bit of hibernation, but instead I just lie there. Staring at the ceiling and feeling sorry for myself. _I am pathetic._

And just like clockwork, I feel a presence in my mind, "You aren't pathetic. What is going on?" I hear Kuro's concerned voice in my mind. I really didn't want to do this right now.

"He's a demon in hiding, Kuro."

"The dreamboat?"

"Yeah."

"That is great!" He laughs. I sit up in bed,

"How the hell is that _great?_

"Well it means he has definitely felt that connection with you all along, and didn't run from it. And he would probably accept your past if you chose to show it to him.

"Except for the fact that one: He still thinks I am human, albeit a descendant of a demon hunter, and two, it was all a lie to scope out a threat."

"You told him about Hiro?"

"Yeah, he and Yusuke both. Hiro told me I could, and it seemed like the thing to say at the time..."

"Why do you think it was all a lie?"

"Because he all but told me he only spoke with me because he thought I might be a threat."

"Sure, maybe that explains the first few interactions, but he continued to talk to you...if you felt like he enjoyed your company...he probably did. Your intuitions are always spot on...and Honestly, would you have done anything different if you were in his position?"

"I don't know...no...but I wouldn't have flirted with him. That is just cruel."

"Maybe he did that because he actually liked you."

"Or because he thought he was going to die..."

"What?"

"He was one of the demons who cracked that vault. He wanted to use the forlorn hope to trade his life for the life of his mother."

"Ohhh, that makes sense...desperation is a funny thing..."

"So is it safe to say he was only flirting with me because he thought he was going to die?"

"I mean...it's a valid assumption. But he had to have _wanted_ to do it in the first place. I mean, he _thinks_ you are a human girl. He was probably having the same reservations as you were when you thought he was just a human boy... My guess is this: it started as scoping out a treat, then he found he actually liked you, and decided to flirt with you because he thought he had nothing to lose, and since he was going to die, you wouldn't be stuck in a relationship with a demon."

"Hmmm."

"Don't dwell on why things happened. Just figure out how to move forward. Okay? I can feel how weak you are. Sleep. I'll talk to you later."

"Thanks Kuro."

"No problem. Go bang the cute demon boy."

With a laugh and a shrug, I quickly fall into a dreamless sleep of recovery.

* * *

 **Kurama**

After Tsuki stormed away, Yusuke turned to look at me, "I don't think I have ever seen her that mad before, and I watched her hit a teacher for calling Keiko a tramp..."

"I don't even know what to think of all this...or what she thinks of me..." The granddaughter of a demon hunter learning a person she considers a friend was a demon in hiding?

"Oh, you are worried about the demon hunter thing?" Yusuke asks me, for him to be so reckless and impulsive, he is rather perceptive.

"I didn't know about that, but it makes a lotta sense. Tsuki has always told me not to trust spirit world." He turned to Botan, "No offense." He turned back to me, "When I told her about becoming spirit detective she gave me this big speech about how demons aren't monsters, they can be good or bad just like humans can, and that I should trust my gut, not my orders... Hell, that is why I trusted you despite Botan yelling at me for it." I turned to look at Botan, and she shrugged, still holding the comatose Keiko in her arms.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Wait...are you the guy that Keiko's mom has been gushing about?" My eyes widened... I hadn't even thought about that. He cackled. "You are! That is so great! Explains why she is pissed off at you too!"

"It does?" I wasn't following this train of thought. Maybe it was the blood loss?

"She knows you were only talking to her because you thought she could be a threat, and you only flirted with her because you thought you were going to die." He continued to laugh, but I fail to see the humor in this situation. _She is very perceptive. If our roles were reversed I would think the same thing...and honestly, she isn't wrong...but there is more to it than that._

Yusuke started speaking again, "Listen Kurama, I like you and all... you just took a sword to the stomach for me, but you sorta broke the heart of one of my best friends, and I think friend-law dictates that I have to kill you now." I laughed, and it made my stomach bleed again,

"You don't have to kill me...I intend to make it up to her. Though she may be correct in how it began, I do genuinely value her company, and her friendship...and now that she knows what I really am..."

"You have someone you can actually be yourself around?"

"Well...more of myself. No human should see all of me."

"Well, she knew your demon name, I would say she knows more about you than you think she does."

"You may be right." I stand up, "Until next time, Yusuke."

"Yeah...Seriously though...Tsuki is a great person. Don't hurt her, okay?"

"I don't intend to, Yusuke."

* * *

When I enter the school the next morning I am a little later than usual, the greenhouse will have to wait. I notice her sitting in the hall outside the classroom, another of those cheap novellas in her hands. There is no more blood on her face or clothes. She looks completely normal again. She seems to notice my presence and she raises her eyes to meet mine. It was not the soft warm eyes I was used to seeing from her, this was heated. _She was definitely mad at me. If not for the coldness I treated her with at school yesterday, then for what came afterwards._

She spoke first, "Good morning Shuichi, feeling any better?" There was still fire in her voice, but also concern. Despite how angry she was at me, she still cared for my wellbeing, and she was still using my human name.

"Yes. Much. Thank you." I carefully sat down beside her, moving slowly to avoid agitating my wound. "I know you are upset with me, and rightfully so, but I have some things I would like to say to you, if you are still willing to have lunch with me?"

She turns her head to look at me and nods. For a moment as she shifts, our hands brush, and I feel that familiar tingle. She looks at our hands, "You can feel it too, can't you?"

"Yes...to be perfectly honest, I have grown to enjoy the sensation of it." Her eyes quickly come back to mine, and she looks shocked. I intentionally move my hand to rest on top of hers. "Despite what you may think, everything I have done, I have done because I wanted to."

She narrowed her eyes, disbelieving, and a moment later the bell rang. She pulled her hand away from mine and stood quickly, entering the classroom before I even got off the floor.

* * *

After class ended, she seemed to walk with a purpose towards the greenhouse and our lunch spot. I followed her outside and closed the door behind us. The second it was closed, she turned around, crossing her arms and cocking her hip, "What?"

I smirked at her, and stepped closer. When she stepped back away from me, I decided that was as close as I was getting. "While it is true that I began speaking to you because you seemed like you could be a threat. It quickly became more than that. I continued talking to you because I enjoyed our conversations. I enjoyed your company. Because I value your friendship."

"And the flirting with me?" She asked, so sternly, keeping a straight face.

"That was also because I wanted to... You responded in a mature way, and I already told you I enjoy the way it feels when we touch. I thought there was no harm in it because I was going to die soon, but once my survival was assured, it seemed unfair to put you in danger by continuing to be close to you. However, it seems like that only hurt you further, especially since you are already involved with demons and the spirit detective regardless of my proximity to you... I would like us to continue to be friends, if you are comfortable with what I am, that is..."

She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Now I am the asshole."

I didn't anticipate that turn of events... I start to step towards her again, but she drops her hands and exhales dramatically. She begins to pace and talk very quickly, "I am trying to be mad at you, and then you come here, and you are so honest with me. So now I am the asshole, because I can't return the favor! There are so many things I can _never_ tell you. Or tell _anyone._ I am not _normal._ I am _not._ I never will be. I tried to be mad at you for using me to not feel alone, but I was doing the _same fucking thing!_ But I can't even make up for it by being so honest with you because believe me when I say I _can't tell you._ " Her voice was beginning to break, so I acted on impulse, I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms, I held her loosely at first, in case she wanted to escape, but then she laid her head on my chest, and I felt her arms snake around my waist. I could feel the buzzing all over... I gently laid my cheek on the top of her head as I held her tighter to me.

"That is okay, Tsuki...we all have secrets. Tell me what you can, but what what you can't is fine. I don't expect any more than what you can, or want, to give me."

I felt her pull away suddenly, putting quite a distance between us in such a small amount of time. I was worried I had said something wrong. "Sorry. It's uh...hard to explain, especially when I don't even really understand it...but that tingling is our energies flowing between the both of us...It feels nice for me too, but it gets overwhelming for me really quickly, and I have no idea what will happen if I hang on too long."

I smile at her, she was being honest, and telling me what she could. That is all I could ask for. "Okay. I will keep that in mind. Anything else I should know?" I saw her mouth open slightly and then close again, I raised a brow, encouraging her to continue. She looked down at her feet before speaking.

"Well...uh...if we were to... _kiss..._ let's just say it would end badly for all involved parties." I smiled at her sudden shyness. She hadn't been shy the entire time I have known her, but this was the thing that got to her.

"I understand. I will keep that in mind as well. Is there anything else?" I walked over to the bench, and sat down on my side, and she followed, sitting across from me.

"When it is just us, what do you want me to call you?"

"Kurama. It feels the most like the real me." I unwrapped my lunch and began to eat.

"Wait, you are a demon, why do you need to eat?" She asked, pulling her lollipop from her mouth long enough to ask her question.

"I am a demon soul inhabiting a human body. I am not exclusively either."

"I see...that is why I couldn't tell..." She began to laugh and shake her head.

"What is funny?"

"I have been having lunch with the king of thieves for several weeks now, and I didn't even know."

Her laughter is contagious, and I join her, "I always hated that title."

"I figured. That is why I picked that one."

* * *

Things felt normal between us again. Despite the fact that nothing about this situation was normal. We spent more time together. Several days after the incident with Hiei after school was ending, she asked if I was busy after school, and if I wanted to meet Keiko now that she was conscious. I agreed, and we left Meiou together that day. I waited with her outside the gates of her old school, just as she did alone that first day we met, when I watched her afterwards. I never thought I would be here beside her.

When school let out, it was only a few moments before Keiko exited the building, her eyes fell on Tsuki, and then on me, and I gave her a polite smile which she returned.

"Keiko, this is Shuichi Minamino. I have told you about him. So has your mother." She looked at me, "Shuichi, this is Keiko Yukimura." She really was good at this acting thing. She turned back to Keiko, "I figured it was time that my two best friends finally met." Tsuki smiled at Keiko, and I could tell that she realized we were standing a bit too closely to one another to just be friends, but she didn't question it. I am sure she knew Tsuki too well for that.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you Shuichi! I have heard a lot about you!" She extended her hand and I shook it politely.

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Yukimura."

"Oh, Keiko. Please." She smiled at me, and the three of us began to walk, I purposely positioned myself just behind the two of them so I could be part of the conversation if I needed to, or just be a spectator.

"So, do you and Yusuke have been plans for the long weekend?" Tsuki asked, and Keiko answered with a glare.

"No. That jerk said he was 'working' and didn't have time to do anything."

Tsuki laughed, "I am sure he is actually working though..."

"With that mysterious job that everyone seems to know about but me?" Keiko turned to look at me suddenly, "I am guessing even you know about his job?"

I put my hands up in surrender, "Um, no?"

Tsuki laughed and threw her arm around Keiko's shoulder, "You are over-reacting. He is a guy. He is inherently stubborn and unfeeling." She glanced back to look at me with a smirk.

"It's true. We are all dogs." I joked.

"Now now..." Tsuki continued, "That is is rude to the dogs." Keiko laughed, and Tsuki joined her, and I smiled at the two of them.

* * *

We dropped Keiko off at her home, and I got to meet her parents again, although this time seemed to be under more pleasant circumstances. Then the two of us walked towards her Dojo. We entered and kicked off our shoes. An older gentleman appeared in a doorway, _this must be her grandfather._ "Hello Tsuki, who is your friend?"

She looked up at him, and I was almost shocked by her bluntness, "This is my friend from school. His human name is Shuichi Minamino, but he is actually Yoko Kurama."

I stared at the older man, waiting for the reaction from the former demon hunter, "Well, if I had known we were entertaining famous people, I would have cleaned the floors after class." He smiled at me. Completely unphased. "Pleasure to meet you, I am Tsuki's grandfather, Hiro. Would you like some tea?"

"Oh no thank you, I-" He poked the back of a cabinet, revealing a secret door, and pulled out something I hadn't seen in years.

"Are you sure? I have Tagan tea..." He sang his words as he dangled the bag of dried herbs in front of me.

"Is that from demon world?" he nodded, "I haven't had that in centuries...do I even want to know how you got it?"

He smiled, as he began to start the kettle. "Probably not... I have had it for a while, Tsuki refuses to have it with me. I am excited to share it with someone with refined tastes."

I felt her presence again as she sat beside me in the kitchen, she had changed her clothes while Hiro and I were talking, "Because it tastes like someone figured out how to make _burnt_ dirt." I turned to her, and she smiled at me. She then popped the top on a can of soda, "You two knock yourselves out with the demon tea, I am having grape soda."

I smiled at her as Hiro placed the cup of tea in front of me. The smell reminded me of old times. Having it here with a human family in a human body was surreal. I took a sip, and it was better than I anticipated. "It is delicious...better than I remembered."

"Oh, I uh, added a bit of honey to it. Human thing, I think it accents the flavor."

"It does. I like it. The synergy between the flavors of human and demon world is oddly fitting, don't you think?"

He nods, sitting across from Tsuki and I, sipping his own tea.

"Oh, and only Yusuke and I know that he is Kurama. To Keiko and his family and everyone else, he is Shuichi." Tsuki states, after basically chugging half her soda.

Hiro looks at me, "I am happy to be part of the exclusive club who knows who you are. If Tsuki trusts you, then so do I."

"Honestly, it still surprises me how accepting you and Tsuki are of who I am..."

"I lived most of my life hunting demons for humans. Then the humans I worked for tried to have me killed, and a demon was the one who saved my life and gave me a second chance. That sort of thing can shake up how you see the world. I did a lot of things I am not proud of. I am sure you have too. The way I see it, leave the past in the past, if you want to be a better person, you should be able to. Human, demon, or whatever, you should be able to change for the better if you choose to."

"You speak of the past like it was so long ago." I observed, and he quirked a smile, and then looked at Tsuki, who waved her hand dismissively.

"It was. I am over two hundred years old." I almost spat out my tea. A human living that long is _unheard of._ "I am sure you have seen that Tsuki has special powers. They have been passed down through our family for a very long time. They allow us to live very long lives."

"Unless you get murdered." Tsuki added.

"Yes. Unless you get murdered..." Hiro responded mournfully, I remembered Tsuki telling me about her parents.

Tsuki looked to me, "See? Told you I wasn't normal..."

* * *

Our lives carried on normally for six months. Tsuki had told me that Yusuke was undergoing training under the psychic Genkai, and that his friend Kuwabara had developed abilities and had asked her and Hiro to train him to use them. I spent time with her and Keiko, because Keiko was always upset about Yusuke being at 'camp'. Tsuki and I would often had dinners with Keiko and her family, as well as with Hiro. We even often had dinners with my family. My mother and Kazuya were even closer now, and he and his son Kokoda would often have meals with us. My mother loved having Tsuki over. After she left, mother would always urge me to 'make it official' but she eventually seemed to realize it was not that sort of relationship.

As we spent time together, my questionable feelings for her only grew. Not only did she know what I was she knew _who_ I was. She had heard the tales of Yoko Kurama, yet she looked at me the same way she did when she thought I was a regular human. She knew that I had feelings for her, and I knew she had them for me as well, but we never spoke of them. We didn't need to. We kept our friendly conversations just as they were, two people sharing each other's company, there continued to be light flirting, an occasional more than casual touch, but nothing _rash._ We never discussed or labelled what exactly we were to each other. Curious outsiders would ask, and we would say we were only friends, but the both of us knew there was more to it than that. But she, too, seemed to understand that labelling whatever was between us would only make it too obvious how unorthodox and frivolous it was. Despite the connection between us, I knew that I was still a demon, and she was still a human, and it couldn't work for long, much less forever. But without ever saying a word, we both seemed to understand that this was doomed before it even began, but we both wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. I never thought I would find myself involved with a human, and I guess I technically still wasn't. But I did know that I cared for this girl more than I had cared for any lover in my previous life. Despite of, or perhaps because of, the fact that there was very little physical or verbal affection.

I found that the best way to show her that I cared were the little touches that lasted just long enough to be so pleasant, but not long enough to make her begin to fear the consequences of our contact. I could tell she cared from the way she gave me a knowing smile whenever I pretended to be something she knew I wasn't. When she looked at me, she saw everything that I was. She wasn't a human resenting that I was a demon, and she wasn't a demon resenting how I had grown to care for humans in this life. She saw all of it, and somehow seemed to understand. I didn't know how or why, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. When she looks at me, and I can see my reflection in her eyes, and she just gives me that warm smile I have grown to treasure, I realize I am far more invested in this 'friendship' than I ever planned to be. Then I realize that I am okay with that.


	11. Tangled Webs

*" _O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" - Walter Scott*_

 **Luna**

After I had gotten dressed for the day, I was about to give Keiko a call and see if she wanted to go do some silly girly shit to stop thinking about Yusuke. He had been gone for six months now. This was getting a little ridiculous. But as if she knew I was thinking about her, the phone rang. "Yusuke's home! Come hang out with us! We are gonna go get milkshakes from that stand downtown!"

"Alright. I will be there in a minute!" I hung up, well, at least he is home. Maybe things can go back to being normal again? I started the walk towards our meetup location. I knew I had to walk there at a normal pace. Appearing there moments after she hung up would be a tad suspicious. As I walked I thought about what had become of my new normal...I was in a sorta-kinda relationship with a fox demon who thought I was a human. I kept piling on lie after lie after he was so honest with me...This is going to be a disaster.

"It really will be, you know?"

"Shit Kuro, don't just speak without telling me you are there first!"

"Sorry. But you are right. The more lies you tell him and the longer this goes on, the more pissed off he is gonna be when he finally does learn the truth."

"When did you decide to become my moral compass?"

"It's not like that. I can feel how happy you are with him, and I don't want that to end just because you are too stubborn to tell him the truth. Do you really think he won't accept you?"

"I don't know...he has feelings for a human, Kuro..."

"No no no. You stop that! Dreamboat is _not_ Geralt. He is absolutely nothing like him, and from what you have told me, I think the dreamboat demon _actually_ cares about you. And don't start feeding me that bullshit about how Geralt did care, because he didn't. We both know it. You just can't admit it."

"He likes the mask Kuro! And as you said, I am way too deep in the lies now. If he finds out, he will be very upset..."

"You mean _when_ he finds out. Truths always come out Luna. You know that."

"Yeah yeah. What is wrong with just enjoying what I have until it blows up in my face?"

"Nothing I guess, but I really don't want it to blow up in your face...This is probably the happiest I have ever known you to be, both in your memories, and in the time that I have known you. If anyone in this fucked up world deserves a little bit of happy. It is you Luna...You have been through enough."

"Thanks Kuro... You deserve happiness too, you know... be safe storming the castle. I gotta meet a friend for milkshakes." I could see Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara in the distance.

"Is it the dreamboat? Are you gonna get one milkshake with two straws like in the movies?"

"No Kuro. Go be a spy." I felt his laugh and then he was gone.

Kuwabara saw me first, "Hey Tsuki! You are joining us for milkshakes?!" He gave me that goofy grin, it always amazed me how he still looked at me the same, even after Hiro and I have spent the last six months beating the hell out of him. I wondered if he had told Yusuke about that. Probably not...He probably wants to surprise him.

Keiko handed me a milkshake, "Here you go, vanilla with caramel."

"Keiko. You are the fucking best." She smiles and gives me a one armed hug.

"The guys were talking about wanting to see a movie, so I said we should go see that art film playing in town!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara both looked at me, begging me to give them an out. But Yusuke deserved this. I could handle a stupid art film if it meant he had to sit through it too.

"That sounds great Keiko!" I smiled, and I could feel the guys glaring at my back.

We walk towards the movie, Keiko and I are just ahead of Yusuke and Kuwabara. I can hear them whispering.

"This is the happiest Keiko has been in months. You guys must really have somethin' for her to be that way..." the sounds of a struggle, "Don't act like you're not excited too! How do you think Keiko feels when you pretend you don't care!"

"Hey you are squishing my milkshake!"

Keiko stops and turns to them, "Yusuke stop wrestling the movie is about to start!"

Yusuke seems distracted, I follow his eyes, and I notice it too, something feels wrong.

"Hey Keiko... I gotta grab something at the store first..."

"What?" Keiko is sad, but I know Yusuke needs to check out that weird feeling, and I really don't want Keiko anywhere near it either.

"Kuwabara needs to grab something too, right?" He nudges him. "We will be right back, five minutes tops. You mind saving us some seats?"

"Well if it is quick I will come with you." Keiko stammers, she wants to be with Yusuke. That is the point of this whole damn movie.

"No it's sort of embarrassing, it is a guy thing, you know? We'll be back soon okay?" he grabs Kuwabara and runs off,

"Fine, we'll be in the center row!" Keiko calls after them, and I grab her arm to comfort her. We waited outside that theatre for about an hour before she began to get teary. I felt awful for her. "Yusuke, you brat..." Her tears were about ready to fall. _This better have been fucking important._

Keiko said she wanted to go to Sarayashiki to take care of some stuff for the student government. Who was I to judge her for wanting to bury her sorrows in school? As we walked, I saw a large bug fly by my head, and I snatched it out of the air.

 _A Makai insect? Here? This must be what Yusuke is dealing with._ I kept an eye out for more. I pity the human that gets infected by one of these. I dropped Keiko off at the school. She didn't have a weak enough mind to fall victim to the makai insects. She would be safe. The other people of the city? Not so much...Should I try to help them?

"Hey Keiko, are you gonna be fine here working by yourself on a weekend?"

"Yeah I will be fine! You gonna go see Shuichi?" She asked as we approached the school.

"No, I just have some errands to take care of. I will be back soon, okay?"

"Yeah, of course! Have fun on your errands." She sounded chipper as she headed into the building. I knew it was an act, and she was still very upset about Yusuke ditching her. But the other people of this city needed me more now. I shifted and headed to the dojo. There were even more bugs popping up by the second.

"Hiro!" I called, as I grabbed my trench coat and put it on, it would allow me to be discreet from my demon form if I needed to be seen. It was long enough to hide my tail, and had a hood to cover my ears. "There are Makai insects all over the city. I am going to try to save as many people as I can. I recommend you do the same!" He appeared beside me, his katana on his hip.

"I will do what I can."

"Thank you."

I headed out into the city. Slashing bugs with my claws and knocking out any infected humans and killing the parasites that crawl out. _God, I hate bugs._

* * *

The sun was starting to set, and I was in the middle of punching a mass of infected humans when they suddenly stopped and turned away. I could hear them muttering, "Kill...Keiko..."

"Keiko? Oh fuck!" I abandon these humans and rush towards Keiko's school. _I won't leave her alone again._ Shit. I shouldn't have gone so far away...again...

When I arrived the school was full of infected humans. They all had makeshift weapons, I knocked them down. I ran around the school, looking for any sign of her. "Fucking shit! Keiko! Where are you!" I called out for her, but I knew she wouldn't recognize my real voice. If she was smart she would be staying away from everyone. I heard a scream from one of the other school buildings. I knew it was her.

"Fucking shit!" I was kicking down the infected left and right, they were everywhere. They were making it hard to move quickly.

I found a horde of them breaking down a door. She must be in there. I watch as they stab a cabinet with their makeshift spears. I see her scarf in the crack of the cabinet.

"No!" I scream, and begin to punch wildly, "Keiko!" I see Iwamoto and I punch him extra hard. Then I see Keiko and Botan jump out of the window, holding brooms and begin to knock down the infected. I look at her from beneath my hood, "Keiko! You are alright! Oh thank God."

Botan looked at me, I knew she could see my fangs. She knew I wasn't human, "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. I am here to make sure the both of you survive this..." I extend my hand towards them, and I see them both look at my claws in horror. "Listen to me, I promise you I am not here to hurt you! If I wanted you dead, you would be dead!" I raise my head so that she can see my eyes clearly. She said I had kind eyes before. I need her to believe that now.

"I believe you." She spoke softly, and Botan turned to look at her. We didn't have time for this.

"We need to leave. Putting ourselves in a corner is dangerous. You two run ahead, I will keep them off of you."

They nod sternly, and run out the broken door and down the hall. I stay a bit behind them, caught up in knocking out as many infected as I could. I was taking care of another teacher I vaguely recognized when I heard the thud of the pipe. I glanced up and I saw Botan going down, and Keiko catching her in her arms. "Shit!" _It would be so much easier if I could just fucking kill these people._

I rush to her, knocking the zombies out of the way. I heard Botan telling her to run away, but Keiko telling her she can't leave her. A man was raising a pair of scissors and about to plunge them into her when I swept his legs and he fell into two other men. I felt the wind on my ears, and I knew that my hood was off.

I knelt in front of Keiko and Botan, and Keiko was just staring at me. "Listen Keiko. I know this is crazy, and that you have no idea who I am, and all this is fucking terrifying. But we can't stay here, and I can't carry you both out of here while I am like this. You don't remember it, but you saved my life once, and now it is my job to keep you safe. Will you let me do that?"

She looked scared. If I were her looking at me, I would be too. She nods nevertheless.

"This is going to get even weirder, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?" She nods again. "I am going to turn into a large wolf, you need to put Botan on my back, and climb on yourself and I will get us out of here. I won't be able to talk but it will still be me, and you are gonna have to hold onto my fur as tight as you can okay? Don't let Botan fall off...I know I will look scary. But I owe you. And I care about you. And I am not going to let anything happen to you."

"Okay...I believe you... I am ready." Her voice is breaking, and she is crying, but I felt like she understood. I stepped enough away from her to shift, and for a moment she just stared at me. I mean, a nine foot long wolf is scary, but we don't have time for this. I shook my head and whined, and that seemed to snap her out of it. She lifted Botan and laid her across my shoulders before she climbed on my back like I was a horse. _Good Girl._ I felt her throw her torso across Botan and wrap her arms around my neck, her fingers gripping my fur. She felt secure, so I started to run.

In this form, with the two of them safely on my back, I was able to just knock down the infected with my paws or by nipping with my teeth. Even though they were infected, they were aware enough to know to fear a giant wolf. I ran up the stairs to the roof, and I was happy to find it empty. I laid down, signalling them to get off, and Keiko obliged, stepping off of me with relatively steady feet, and taking Botan back in her arms. I shifted back to my true form so I could barricade the door to the roof, and once that was done, I turned back to Keiko. She still seemed to be in shock.

"We should be safe up here, and I am sure Yusuke will take care of the source soon."

I saw her perk up at the mention of Yusuke. "Can you tell me what is going on? What are you?"

I smiled, "There are a lot of things in this world that normal people aren't supposed to know about. Like spirits and demons. Things like me, and like the things that infected your teachers and classmates."

"Like when Yusuke was dead, and they brought him back to life?"

"Yeah...Part of the deal was that once he was back, he would help protect the world from the things that want to do harm."

"Like demons?"

"Yeah. Mostly demons."

"Are you a demon?"

"I am. I am a wolf demon."

"But you saved me?"

"We aren't all evil. We are good and bad. Just like humans."

"You said that I saved your life?"

I smiled at her, if she was scared of my fangs, she didn't show it. "You did. You were much younger. But I was dying. You didn't know it, but you saved my life. So now you are under my protection."

That annoying hum that I had been hearing all day finally stopped. I twitched my ears and I heard the sound of a bunch of bodies hitting the ground. "I think he did it Keiko...I think Yusuke stopped it." She smiled at me, I saw her absent-mindedly rubbing Botan's shoulders.

"I am glad."

"Keiko, can I see your hand?" She nodded, and extended her hand to me, "I am just going to prick your finger. It will hurt a little bit. But I wanted to be honest."

"It's okay...I don't know why... but I trust you." I smiled at her, and pricked her finger with my claw, and then pricked my own and pressed them together. I felt the bonding. "We are connected now. If in the future you are in danger or need me, or want to talk to me or anything, all you have to do is think of me, and I will be able to hear it."

"From anywhere?" She asked, rubbing her finger.

"Anywhere. Anytime. If you need me, I will be there. You may not always see me, because I am a master of disguise. But I promise you, I will be there."

She smiled, and as Botan started to move, I began to stand. "Wait! I don't know your name!"

"My name is Luna. Its great to officially meet you, Keiko..." Botan was starting to wake up, and I didn't really want to answer all her questions. "I should get going. But you know how to contact me if you need me."

"Yep!" She smiled and closed her eyes, and I saw tears well up and fall. I lept off the roof and began running through the trees.

* * *

 **Kurama**

Hiei and I re-entered living world with Kuwabara on my back, and Yusuke on Hiei's. The portal dropped us out seemingly on the outskirts of town, luckily I knew someone I trusted who lived nearby.

"Do you know somewhere we can take them? I don't think we can explain this to a hospital." Hiei asked, obviously upset to be toting a human around living world.

"Yes. I know somewhere nearby, though it may be difficult to explain why _you_ are here."

We walk the few blocks to Tsuki's home.

"A Martial Arts studio? How will that help?"

"Please just trust me Hiei, and try not to say anything."

I could feel his glare on me as I knocked on the door, and after a moment, Tsuki answered the door. Her eyes raked over the four of us quickly before she spoke, "Jesus Christ, Kurama! What the actual fuck?" She holds the door open and Hiei and I head inside. "You can drop one of them on the couch, I will get a mat for the other." Hiei unceremoniously drops Yusuke on the couch.

"That is the other human girl from the warehouse right?" Hiei asks rather quietly.

"Yes. Her name is Tsuki."

"She isn't a normal human is she?"

"No, she is most definitely not." Tsuki renters the room, and rolls a mat out on the floor, and I gently lay Kuwabara down.

"I imagine this has something to do with the fact that Hiro and I have been playing exterminator to Makai insects all day?" Tsuki lays a hand on Kuwabara, and I can feel her energy spike. She does the same to Yusuke.

"Yes. The Four Saint Beasts were controlling them. They are dead now."

"So the four of you went in as a team?" She looks between Hiei and I before heading towards the kitchen. She hops up on the kitchen table, and pops open a secret compartment in the ceiling. She pulls out a rather large bag of healing herbs from demon world. Some of them quite rare.

"Yes. You could call it parole for Hiei and I." I answer, and she throws the bag of herbs at me.

"I am sure you have a better idea of how to use those than I do. I need to focus on them, so you will need to fix your own wounds and whatever is wrong with Hiei..." She turns to look at him. "You know, the more you try to look inside my mind, the easier it is to see inside yours. That is true for most telepaths. You should be more careful."

"What are you-" He steps towards her, but I put a hand on his shoulder. She just smiles before sitting in between Yusuke and Kuwabara, and beginning to heal them both. I began to utilize the herbs I was given to slow my own bleeding and accelerate my healing. A few moments later, there is a knock at the door.

"Kurama, would you get that?" Tsuki asks me, I can smell her blood that tells me her nose is bleeding again. I hate coming to her like this. I open the door, and I see Botan and Keiko at the door with smiles on their faces.

"Oh Kurama, I thought I might find you here!" Botan exclaims.

"Yes. Yusuke and Kuwabara are here too." I barely finish my sentence before Keiko rushes past me towards the main room. I turn to look at Botan, "We are going to have to do a lot of explaining to her, aren't we?"

"Oh Kurama... you have no idea." She responds, kicking off her shoes and closing the door behind her.

We round the corner, and I see Keiko staring at Tsuki healing the two boys. Tsuki turns to look at Keiko, "Oh Keiko, I am so glad you are okay! I know this probably looks really crazy but I.."

"No. Botan explained some things on the way here. Like how you, Yusuke, and Kuwabara all have special powers, and that yours are more for healing than fighting." She turned to look at Botan.

"Alright guys, something really weird happened and I couldn't _not_ explain things to her after what she saw..."

Tsuki narrowed her eyes at Botan, her nose was bleeding still, but it seemed like Kuwabara was starting to wake up. Suddenly he bolted upright, looking around at all of us, and seemed to calm when he recognized his surroundings. He glanced at Yusuke who was on the couch. I answered his silent question.

"He is alive. He will be fine with rest."

"Yes, and Keiko was just going to tell us about her grand adventure while I was unconscious. She told me the jist of it on the way here, but I am looking forward to hearing the details. Maybe you all can make sense of it." Botan spoke quickly, and then all eyes are on Keiko.

"The short version is that a wolf demon saved Botan and me from those crazy people!"

"But I told her, there _are no_ Wolf Demons." Botan seemed mildly perturbed.

"She looked like a wolf. She _said_ she was a wolf!"

"Maybe she was a fox?"

"No Botan. I know what a fox looks like, and i know what a wolf looks like. She was a wolf! Just a really big one! I rode on her back!"

I decided to step in and mediate, "Maybe you should slow down and start from the beginning."

Botan stepped forward, "I will start with what happened while I was awake. We were running from the infected, and we had set a trap for them, when a girl rushed in yelling for Keiko. She was wearing a hood but when she looked at us, I could see her fangs, and when she held out her hand she had really long claws instead of fingernails."

Keiko chimed in, apparently excited to tell the story, "She said she was there to help us, and she _did_ help us! I looked in her eyes, and they looked so kind. They were so deep blue they were almost black, but for some reason I trusted her. She told us to run, so we did."

"And then I got hit in the head, and I was unconscious."

"We were sitting there, and we were surrounded, and a man was about to stab me, but she tripped him, and her hood fell down. I could really see her, she didn't have ears like us, she had big furry ones on her head. They were black with white tips, and I know it's weird, but I remember thinking she was somewhere between scary and beautiful. Then she told me she was going to get us out but she couldn't do it in her current form. She told me she was about to do something weird, and she told me what I had to do, and then she transformed into a giant wolf right in front of me!" I watched Keiko as she was telling this story like it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, and I guess it was. "She was a really big, black wolf, and then I lifted Botan onto her back, and got on myself just like she told me to, and then she carried us to the roof. That's where she told me that Yusuke was going to fix this, and that spirits and demons were real, and that I had saved her life, and she was going to protect me." Keiko smiled at the room of stunned faces, and took a second to catch her breath.

"You see what I mean? Keiko believed the demon, but I don't see how we can believe anything she said, considering she claimed to be a kind of demon that _don't exist!_ "

Botan was a being of spirit world. It makes sense that she wouldn't know. As far as I knew, only the word of mouth keeps the legends of the wolves alive. "Well, that isn't _entirely_ true." The whole room turned to look at me, aside from Hiei, who was only passively listening to the entire conversation. "Wolf demons are real. Or rather...they were, before Spirit World drove them into extinction...Spirit World rightfully deemed it one of their darker moments, and wiped records of it from history. The spoken histories of demon world still speak of them though."

Botan looked horrified, "Spirit World drove them to extinction? But why?"

To my surprise, Hiei finally joined in the conversation, "They were the demons every demon wanted to be. They could take any form. Duplicate any ability, and had seemingly endless power. They could cross any barrier spirit world erected like it wasn't even there. Spirit World hated that. They told both the Demon World and the human world, that if they could prove they had killed a Wolf Demon, they were entitled to great riches. So despite the fact that most of the wolves were reclusive and peaceful, they all faced genocide at the hands of everyone else."

Keiko threw her hands over her mouth, and Kuwabara and Botan just looked shocked. Tsuki just seemed...sad. Keiko spoke first, "That is awful."

Botan seemed remorseful, "No wonder she wanted to leave before I woke up. I wouldn't want to face an agent of spirit world either..." She turned to Keiko, "You truly feel like she had your best interests at heart?"

"I do. I believed her."

"Then this encounter doesn't leave this room. We will tell Yusuke the basics when he wakes up, but beyond that we should never speak of the wolf again."

"Her name was Luna." Keiko spoke.

"Right. We will never speak of Luna again. I would like to think that she would be safe even if Spirit World found out about her, but I don't want to take that chance when she risked her safety to help Keiko and I."

I was trying to think of why that name seemed so familiar...Luna... _That's it!_ My mother said a woman pretending to be a nurse came in and took away all her pain...She said she had the deepest blue, kind eyes. And she said her name was Luna. She was so certain that this Luna was the reason for her miracle recovery, but I knew that that was the Forlorn Hope. I dismissed Luna as a hallucination. But maybe it wasn't...

"If we truly have a skin-walker watching out for us, why don't we contact it, see if it will do the next mission for us next time?" Hiei joked, but he had a point, a demon that powerful on our side would be a real asset.

"How would we contact her, though? And even if we could, she wouldn't come. She didn't survive this long by being dumb! She has no way of knowing if she can trust us not to kill her for the money!" Kuwabara chimed in with something that was surprisingly insightful.

"He is right. Even though the incentives of Spirit World are no longer in place, The body parts of a Wolf-Demon are very illustrious collectors' items because of their rarity."

"Ha. Of course the thief would know that." Hiei scoffed.

"Well, this just keeps get more and more interesting, doesn't it?" Tsuki laughs, as she turns around and focuses all her energy on healing Yusuke. I hear the door open, and everyone turns. Hiro is standing in the doorway looking at all of us.

"Well well, a party in my own house, and I wasn't even invited...What a shame." He pulls his sword from its sheath, and uses a napkin to wipe off what appears to be blood.

Botan appears to be the only one who wants to mention it, "Is that _blood_?"

He smirked at her, "Would you believe me if I said no?" I heard Hiei chuckle as Botan gasped. "Oh relax, they were only superficial wounds, they'll survive." He walked over to Tsuki, apparently to inspect her work.

"I thought you were taking the sword for the bugs, not to maim the afflicted..."

She looks up at him, but he just smiles and pats her on the head. "Shit happens, pumpkin..." He hands her a tissue, "Don't get blood on my couch." He turns back to the rest of us, "if anyone needs a place to say until they heal up, you are welcome to stay here, there are plenty of bedrolls in the closet and food in the fridge. Just don't piss me off or scare my students. Oh, and do everything Tsuki says."

"I'll pass" Hiei spoke softly, and quickly left the building. He stayed much longer than I expected him to, honestly.

"I need to report to spirit world. But I will be back tomorrow! But I would love it if you took care of my body!"

"Um sure?" Tsuki called over her shoulder, as Botan fell to the ground. Keiko seemed shocked.

"It is perfectly normal for her, I assure you." I said to Keiko as I helped Kuwabara move her body to his now vacated bedroll.

"I need to make sure Shizuru knows I am okay. I will call Atsuko and tell her Yusuke is staying with me for a few days."

"Alright, thank you Kuwabara. You are sure you are fine to get home on your own?" Tsuki asked him, holding another tissue to her nose. I guess I should feel grateful her ears hadn't begun to bleed yet.

"Yeah, I feel great! You are a wonderful healer Tsuki."

"I hope your training paid off?"

"Yeah. I held my own. You can ask Kurama." Tsuki turned to look at me,

"He did well. Better than we expected."

"Hey!" Kuwabara yelled at me, but I just laughed. "I am going now. I will be back in the morning."

"Yusuke should wake up tomorrow around noon. I can't do much else for him. He just needs sleep now." Tsuki smiled lightly at Yusuke's unconscious body as she moved to stand.

"I'll be back before he wakes up then!" Kuwabara leaves, and I hear the door close.

Tsuki turns to Keiko, "I'll give you some time with him. I need a break anyways." Keiko smiled and took Tsuki's place in the floor in front of the couch. Tsuki looked at me, and I knew what she needed. We went out into the hallway where we were alone, and I pulled her into my arms. Stroking her hair as she nuzzled my chest. I felt guilty for it, but I knew that since she was so weak, I could hold her for much longer. "Are you okay?" She muttered into my chest.

"I am. The herbs you had were very useful. Thank you."

"So did you each take a saint beast?"

I laughed, and I felt her arms clutch my waist. It hurt my wounds slightly, but I didn't want to let her go. "Yes. I took on Genbu the stone demon."

"A friend once told me he smelled like shit. Is it true?"

"Yes. He did have quite the putrid odor. He is dead now though...I am more concerned as to how your friend knew that...?"

"He is nosy. He hears lots of gossip." She laughs, and I feel her rumble against my chest. When I heard that Suzaku had sent the infected after Keiko, I was worried that Tsuki would get involved and get herself killed, I was relieved to have her safe in my arms. I felt her move, and I thought she was letting go, but she just moved her hand to my wound. I felt her powers as she started to heal me. "This way everyone wins."

"Just don't push yourself too far Tsuki..." I ran my fingers into her hair and I heard her sigh. I began to caress her ear with my finger and I heard her breathe catch. I knew I wasn't playing fair, but I loved the noises she made.

"Don't push _me_ too far, Kurama."

"You are right, I am sorry."

"No you aren't." She pulled away and looked up at me with a crooked smile.

"You are right, I am not." I smirked until she poked my ribs just above my open wound and it caused me to cringe. _I deserved that...but it was worth it._

"You should be getting home to Shiori. She is probably really worried about you."

"You are right...You will be fine here?"

"Yeah. It's my house, Kurama. Besides, how much third-wheeling could really happen when one of the two wheels is comatose?"

"I don't know. I guess that really depends on Keiko's opinions on consent and voyeurism." She laughed, but it earned me an elbow to the ribs. "I'll see you tomorrow Tsuki..."

"See you tomorrow, Kurama. Be safe out there."

* * *

 **Luna**

It was late in the night. Hiro and I were sitting at the table in the kitchen, silently watching over Yusuke sleeping on the couch, and Keiko sleeping beside him on the bedroll on the floor. Botan's body was on a bedroll against the wall... It was sweet, really.

I heard Hiro in my head, "Was is really such a good idea to tell her everything?"

"She was scared, Hiro. I knew if I lied, it would make everything even worse...They know about Luna now, but they don't know that I am her. So everything is fine."

"They are smart Luna. How long do you think it will be before one of them figures it out? Especially Kurama. He is very smart and very close to you. I think he would be the first."

"Yes. Probably."

"Are you prepared to deal with the consequences of that?"

"I don't have a choice... He _will_ find out, and he _will_ feel betrayed. This much I know. However, there are two distinct personalities within him. I like them both, but I feel like they would have different reactions to my betrayal."

"Do either of them have a good ending?"

"Not really...not for me at least."

"He cares about you too though..."

"But is it enough? Or will he feel like his feelings clouded his judgement and I used that to my advantage?"

"But that's not what you-"

"It doesn't matter that everything we have is just as real to me as it is to him...if not more so...He won't see it like that. He is a tactician. He will see it as a plan, because honestly, it wouldn't be a bad one. Secure my secret by distracting the most observant of the group..."

"Fuck, you trapped yourself."

"Yep. Now I just have to wait for it all to blow up on me."

"You could just lay low."

"No. If one of them is in danger, I would rather give up my identity, or even my life to save them."

"You would give your life to save them?"

"Keiko and Kurama? No doubt. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and their families? Yes too. Hiei is a maybe. I still haven't quite forgiven him for the warehouse incident...But he lived a hard life. He's never been cared about at all. I know how that must feel for him."

"You were in his head?"

"He tried to look into mine, apparently he wasn't aware that he opened a two lane highway... I think I know more about that boy than I ever wished to...He came to human world to look for his sister. I think when this Saint Beast bullshit is over, I will go look for her. He is confined to the city, but I have no fences."

"Why would you do that?"

"She is an ice apparition. You know better than most what humans will do to her."

"There is more to it than that..."

"Yes...he reminds me of a younger me. Bloodthirsty and bitter...Lost and alone. I spent the greater part of my life looking for petty revenge and things that didn't really matter. Once I found what I wanted, the reputation I had built as one of the best killers in the realms kept me from having that. I don't want anyone to make my same mistakes. He is young. He won't realize his errors until he is much older...but maybe if I can help him to his goals before he completely ruins his life, I can help him somehow."

"And people say you are heartless..." He nudges me with his elbow, and I give him a side glance. "Is that ice wall around your soul finally melting?"

"I will fucking stab you, Hiro." He covers his laugh with his hand to keep from waking Keiko.

* * *

 **Kurama**

I retired to my room after assuring my mother that I was fine, and so was Tsuki, only to find that I wasn't alone. "Hello, Hiei, back so soon?"

"You and that human girl seem close." he must have kept watch after he left.

"We are."

"So can you tell me what she is? Because she can't be human." I flicked on the light, and Hiei was standing on the window sill.

"As far as I know she _is_ human. At least mostly. I know that her grandfather Hiro is a two hundred year old demon hunter, and that they both use a type of energy that is neither Spirit nor Demon. It is not something I encountered before I met them."

"A two hundred year old human?"

"Yes. Apparently their special energy allows them to live long lives if they are not killed. I have been working under the assumption that Tsuki's parents were also demon hunters, and that is how she saw them murdered, but she hasn't spoken of it, and I don't intend to ask."

"For you to be involved with her, you don't seem to know much about her."

I gave a pointed smile, "I hardly see how my _involvement_ with her is any of your concern."

He hopped from the window sill and appeared in front of me. "Because Kurama, in the less than a second from the time I tried to look in her mind, to the time when she made her comment about "it being easier to see in my mind" she had seen enough of my memories to locate the _one_ I have of my sister, realize that would bother me the most, and then comment in my own mind on how beautiful she was."

I chuckled, that sounded like something she would do. "What, Hiei, are you scared that her telepathic abilities are superior to yours?"

"No Kurama, I am concerned that that memory was _deep._ I have seen and done _many things_ which your girlfriend would have seen on her way to the memory of Yukina, and she didn't even _flinch._ She didn't look at me any differently. She didn't seem like it affected her in the slightest."

"I share your concern...when I first learned that she had extensive knowledge of demon world, and of my past, I assumed she would be scared of me, but she never was. She seems to know about all of the things I did as Yoko Kurama, but she still smiles at me the same as she always has. When we entered into this... _relationship_ of sorts, she admitted that there were things about herself she could never tell me, and things we could never do, and I accepted her terms. Since then I have learned that her knowledge of the workings of Demon World is perhaps greater than mine, and no amount of violence or cruelty seems to phase her. I don't know why this is, but I don't intend to ask, either."

"How can you just look past all that and treat her like a normal human?"

"I don't treat her like a normal human. I would never talk about my fights or my past with a normal human. I treat her like _Tsuki._ She is the only person I have ever known who accepts both my past, and my current life as a human."

"You don't wonder why that is?"

"Of course I wonder, Hiei, but it's not as important as enjoying what we have for the time being."

"But _why,_ Kurama?"

"I thought that was obvious, Hiei, because I _care_ for her."

"It still doesn't make any _sense._ "

I laugh, "I suppose it doesn't...but it doesn't have to."

"Human world has changed you, Kurama." And with that, he is gone. Leaving nothing but an open window. _I guess it has._


	12. Desire Destroy

*" _I desire the things which will destroy me in the end."- Sylvia Plath*_

 **Luna**

Kuwabara was the first to arrive the next morning, showing up on the doorstep with breakfast before Keiko even woke up. She didn't sleep long after he arrived either, waking up and showering and borrowing some of my clothes. Botan repossessed her body soon after, and also borrowed my clothes. _I don't have enough clothes for this._

"C'mon girls, we need to get Tsuki some new clothes to replace the ones we are stealing!" Botan exclaimed,extending her hands towards Keiko and I.

"No, we shouldn't...it's fine!" I tried to counter, but my hand was grabbed anyways.

"Kuwabara will be here if Yusuke wakes up, and we won't be long!"

Keiko nodded, a little hesitant, but seemingly excited about the prospect of a girls shopping trip.

Botan began to lead us out the door, "Oh, yay!" As we were pulled out the door, we passed by Kurama who was approaching the door. He gave me a confused look, and I gave him an apologetic smile.

"Would you watch Yusuke with Kuwabara for me?" I asked, trying to convey that this wasn't my idea, but I had no choice.

He gave me that warm smile, "Of course. Have fun on your girls trip."

Botan beamed at him, "Yusuke could learn a thing or two from you! You know how to treat your girlfriend!" Keiko glared at her, "Why are you looking at me like that, they are obviously in lov-" Keiko cut her off with a well placed elbow in the ribs. I was a little proud. Kurama seemed as cool as ever, but I could tell he was slightly unsure of what to do in this situation.

I chimed in, "We should get going girls...Thanks Kurama." Keiko and I grabbed Botan's hands and dragged her away. I saw Kurama lightly shaking his head as he entered the dojo. Botan tried to be sneaky, but I was more than aware she was trying to get Keiko and her in front of me.

"Are they seriously not a thing, they are obviously crazy about each other!" Botan's whisper is really just a normal person's speaking voice.

"They are something. We don't know what though...I don't even think _they_ know what they are to each other." Keiko actually tried to whisper. Still not low enough though.

"You realize I am right behind you, and perfectly capable of hearing, right?" They both turn to look at me, "I have told you before and I'll tell you again. We are just friends."

Keiko narrows her eyes, "The glances and touches you exchange when you think nobody's looking say otherwise." Botan squealed.

I shrug, I don't think I am going to get away from this without a little bit of truth. "We know exactly what we are to each other. Labelling it only makes us susceptible to what society thinks we should be."

Botan looked at me with surprising understanding, "So you know you care about each other, but if you called yourselves a couple, people would question why you didn't go on dates, or hold hands or kiss..."

"Yeah...my powers make things...complicated. Kurama gets that."

The sincere moment was ruined by a muffled squeal, "Oh my goodness, that is the most romantic thing I have ever heard!"

"If either of you say anything to anyone, ever. I won't hesitate to kill you."

Keiko smiled, she seemed happy I finally admitted that there was _something_ a little more than friendship between us. "We won't say a word, right Botan?"

"My lips are sealed!"

"Can we just shop now, please?" I sigh, and they nod and the three of us continue into the town's shopping center, which still seems to be recovering from the effects of infected humans running rampant.

* * *

As we approached the dojo, we could hear Yusuke yelling from outside. _I guess he did wake up a bit early._ "Tell me what happened to her!"

Botan opened the door and she and Keiko walked in just ahead of me, "I recognize that yell anywhere, what's up Yusuke?" I look just past her and see Yusuke holding Kuwabara by the neck of his shirt.

"Botan...Keiko..." Yusuke says disbelieving, and then Kuwabara begins to laugh.

"Oh my gosh! That was so great!"

I look beside him to see Kurama cover a chuckle with his hand. "Sorry, Yusuke. He insisted." I smile at the three boys in front of me.

Kuwabara begins to laugh harder. "You really should have seen the look on your face!"

"Come here, you jerk! I'll show you a look!

"Hey! Hey!" The two begin to wrestle before Botan decides to rein in the situation.

"Settle down, you two! We have things we have to fill Yusuke in on, remember!"

Yusuke drops Kuwabara and turns to Botan, "I was only out for a day. What could I have missed?"

"A lot apparently." I joked.

Botan gestured to the couch, "You may want to sit down, it's kind of a doozy."

He nods and sits on the couch, and Keiko moves past us to sit beside him. She takes a deep breath. "Okay so... I know about everything. I know about you being a detective for spirit world and that Botan is your assistant. And that you, Kuwabara and Tsuki are humans with special powers, and I know that Kurama and Hiei are both demons." Yusuke's mouth was agape, and he turned to look at Botan,

"You told her!?"

Botan shrugged, and Keiko began to speak again. "She didn't have a choice, Yusuke. Botan was knocked out, and i was about to be killed, but we were saved by a demon named Luna. She is apparently rare and powerful, but she says that I saved her life a long time ago and she intends to protect me...The rest of us discussed it while you were asleep, and we decided it was best if none of us ever talked about her again, because we trust her, but we don't want to risk her life."

"Wait, so you have a guardian demon now?"

"A guardian wolf, to be exact!" Kuwabara laughed.

"That's sorta badass Keiko!"

"Yeah, I rode on her back! It was the coolest thing I have ever done!" She giggled and I was really happy that she was more excited by the whole thing than scared. I didn't want her to fear what I really was.

I suddenly had an idea, "Yusuke, how are you feeling?"

He turned to look at me, "Like new, why?"

"Because you owe Keiko an art film." Keiko turned and smiled at me, Yusuke did not.

"You are right, do you want to see that movie now Yusuke?" Keiko asked him, gently holding onto his hand.

He turned to glance at me, he knew he didn't have a way out of this. "But I don't have any clean clothes!"

"Oh, I brought you some, Urameshi!" Kuwabara gave his goofy laugh and presented Yusuke with a pile of clothes and shoes. _Thank God for Kazuma._

Yusuke looked back at Keiko. "Okay, let's go see that movie."

"Oh, Yusuke!" Keiko gushed.I glanced over and saw Kurama giving me a knowing smile.

* * *

Yusuke and Keiko left for their date that they would never admit was a date, and Botan and Kuwabara both made excuses to leave as well, leaving Just Kurama and I alone in the dojo. I wasn't complaining. Hiro was out shopping and I was sort of happy to have the moments of peace after the clusterfuck that was yesterday.

I sat down on the couch, and turned the television on, it was the local news, talking about all of the crazy people and the cleanup efforts. I wasn't really paying attention, because right after I sat down, Kurama sat beside me, with his arm across the back of the couch behind me. I curled into his body, with my head in that little nook where chest meets shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me tighter to him. "Just let me know when to let you go, okay?"

I closed my eyes and relaxed into him. "It will be a while. There is a lot of fabric between us. And I am really tired." I felt him move and I knew he was looking at me.

"Did you not sleep?"

"No. I wanted to make sure Yusuke was still breathing through the night. Keiko was too deep in sleep to notice if he stopped breathing."

"Do you want to sleep now?"

"No... this is better."

"You need to make sure to sleep tonight. Yusuke and the others may not have classes for the week, but you and I do." I felt the warmth and tingle of his fingers as he ran them through my hair.

"Fuck." I felt his chest rumble as he laughed at me.

"I know. But we have to, and I am kind of looking forward to seeing how many more of our classmates ask me if they can ask you out."

I pull away from him and make eye contact, "Wait what?"

"It's actually pretty clever actually. They think that by asking me if they can ask you on a date, they can determine if you are just my friend or my lover. If I were to give them advice, or offer to ask you for them, I would be a friend. If I seemed or upset or outright told them you weren't interested, I would be your lover."

"So what do you tell them?" I smirk at him.

"I say that I doubt you would be interested but it isn't my place to say they can't ask you...the games must continue."

"Those poor guys. They must be so confused!" I laugh, "You and your headgames."

"It is my favorite passtime..."

"Your fangirls just threaten me in the bathroom. Not as much fun."

"They threaten you?" That signature playful smile creeps across his face.

"Yeah, its usually some variation of 'Shuichi deserves better than a whore like you' and then they throw a tampon at me. It's like dealing with children...If only they knew that you were the whore in this relationship"

He narrowed his eyes at me, not quite dropping the smile yet, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I hear that your prowess in bed is second only to your prowess in theft..." The smile is gone in an instant, to be replaced by a look of horror.

"Oh dear God..." He mutters before hiding his face in his hands.

"Unless you plan to tell me the rumors are greatly exaggerated, it seems that headgames weren't always your favorite passtime...or I guess they were different kinds of _head_ games." I chuckle at my own joke, and Kurama leans forward to put his elbows on his knees, still covering his face.

I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him, "Don't be embarrassed. They were only good things!" I feel him chuckle and put his arm around me.

"I have absolutely no idea how to approach this conversation."

"The fact that you are more willing to talk about your murders than your sexual exploits says something about you Kurama." I laugh.

He tilts my chin up so that my eyes meet his. _He was about to get mushy on me._ "I know up to this point, we have avoided talking about what exists between us, and we can go back to that, but I need to say this first... _Any_ moment I have spent talking with you has meant more to me than _all_ of my nights with those women...you know that, right?" His beautiful green eyes shimmered at me, and I knew he was completely serious...It feels different once it is said. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before. I felt the warmth in my cheeks that told me I was blushing.

"Thank you...Its nice to hear you say it."

"I know you give me all you can, and I promise you. _It is enough._ I am _happy."_ His fingers snake into my hair and to the back of my neck, his thumb settling just in front of my ear, and he pulls me so my forehead is on his. His eyes are so close, and I can feel his breath on my lips.

"I am happy too." I whisper, and then in an instant his mouth was on my neck, his lips moving against my skin, and I couldn't suppress the moan that escaped my throat. Then his mouth was hovering over my ear, and his mixture of his warm breath and his hair tickling my skin made me shiver.

"It's not that I don't _want_ you like them...because I assure you... _I do._ It's that I don't _need_ it. I am in this for your beautiful mind, and the way you accept the fact that I am somewhere between human and demon, and despite all the horrible things I have done, you still smile at me and understand that I want to be _better."_ It was that low sultry tone he had used once on be before, though it was far more effective this time. Then I felt his lips close around my earlobe, and the softness of his tongue brush against it, and another breathy moan escaped me.

And then he was gone, leaning back on the couch like nothing had happened, putting a comfortable amount of distance between us. "Holy shit..." I continued to stare at him, and he simply laughed,

"I hope I didn't push too far?"

"Uh no... I uh..think you made your point. I think I need a minute though." I stammered.

He just gave me that crooked half-smile that alone could make me weak at the knees, after what just happened, I think it made me come. "Take all the time you need...do you still think the rumors were _greatly exaggerated?_ "

"No, no I am pretty sure they were accurate... I pride myself on my togetherness, and with something so simple, you seem to have taken away my ability to think clearly..." He was sitting so cooly on the couch, his legs were crossed, His arms were across the back, and he was just lightly chuckling, "That really didn't affect you at all?"

"No it did...the buzzing sensation of my skin on yours is one thing when it's my hands or arms...feeling it through my lips and tongue?" He pauses, closing his eyes, "Let's just call it a testament to the power of my will that I was able to stop when I did."

"So this cool act..?"

"Is just that; an act. I am just as distracted as you and trying to collect myself before I do something you don't want me to do."

"I trust you."

"That makes one of us..." He opens his eyes, and I can see that he seems more focused now.

I lean back on the couch beside him, close enough to feel him, but not touching. "Where do we go from here? I mean, things are different because we have acknowledged the elephant in the room for the first time in over six months. And it may sound strange, but on my end, energy-wise, your mouth wasn't different than any other part of you. It was different physically..."

"So I have about the same amount of contact allowance with my lips as with my hands?"

"I think so. I think it would be a different story if I were the one kissing _you..._ And lip-to-lip contact is still bad..." I turn to look at the TV, my peripheral vision tells me Kurama is doing the same.

"Would you object to me holding your hand in public, if I held it for the same time as I would in private?"

"No. It's never been about that...I don't want to be a liability for you like Keiko is for Yusuke. Nor do I want the idea of Shuichi lowering his reputation to date a rebel like me to begin to circulate."

"My mother likes you. She is the only human who's impression of me I value...Also, no offense intended, but you are far more capable of taking care of yourself than Keiko is...I know you primarily use your powers for healing, but there is no doubt in my mind you could use them in battle if the need arose. I am also well aware of your martial arts and sword skill. Kuwabara told us that you and Hiro trained him while Yusuke was with Genkai." _He had a valid point. Even without knowing what I was, he didn't doubt that I was capable as a human._

"We will never be a normal couple." I look away from the TV and back to him.

"I wouldn't want us to be. I say we just do what feels natural to us, and let people think what they want." He turns to me.

"What about your head games with my suitors?"

He gives me a devilish smirk, "I think I can find other games to play."

"Oh?" I raise a brow at him, "Also, you know that as an avid lover of science it kills me to have a theory go untested..."

"Is that so?"

"Quick, unrelated question... if I put my hands in your hair, will seeds fall out?" He gives a bright smile and a chuckle, and then reaches into his hair, removing a rose as well as a handful of seeds and placing them on the small table near the couch. "How the hell do those even stay in there?"

He cocked a brow, "Some secrets should remain secrets."

"Permission to test a theory?"

"Granted. You may proceed." I slowly raised my right hand to trace along his neck and up into his hairline. His skin was so much softer than I thought it would be. The tingling was ever present, but I was ignoring it for the time being. I watched his eyes flutter closed as I moved my face closer to his, and then I kissed his jawline just below his right ear. The tingle was more intense through my lips, but not overwhelmingly so. I could continue for a few moments, so I opened my mouth slightly to kiss him again, and I heard his low moan, and I felt his fingers come up to tangle in my hair. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

As a wolf demon, there is a pleasure point at the base of my ears, when I take a human form, it translates to my neck just below my ear. _I wonder if foxes are the same..._ I was paying attention to my energy intake, and I knew I would be fine, so I decide to give it a shot. I move to the spot and I lightly bite it with my kiss. I feel Kurama's grip tighten on my scalp, and the noise he emits is somewhere between a growl and a moan. And I lied... _That_ was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I pull away and make eye contact as he untangles his fingers from my hair, and I do the same. The heat in his eyes is very radiant and _very_ sexy. "You are insane." He whispers, and I giggle,

"Why is that?"

"The feeling of your lips was at least three times more intense than your hands."

"That is weird. On my end it was only slightly more intense."

"How did you know about that spot?" He gave me a pointed look. I knew I couldn't feign ignorance, I had gone straight for it...

"I read."

He narrows his eyes at me, "That isn't a spot that humans have..."

"Literotica from demon world exists too, you know, albeit much harder to find."

He laughs, apparently that was good enough. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. "We are playing a dangerous game, you know."

"I know."

* * *

The next morning I spoke to Keiko, who said that she, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were spending the day out on the town since they had class off. I'll admit I was a little mad that the demons had to go to school while the humans got to play. I began to walk to my own school.

The bright side of exposing myself to Keiko was that I was able to set up a mental link that would let me know if she were in trouble. It meant I didn't have to be around her all the time to keep her safe. I could do other things. _Like sorta-make-out with your sorta-boyfriend?_ Ugh... this really was a dangerous game. Things got really heated between us really quickly, and it wouldn't be too long before one of us went to far and kissed the other. Or didn't move away fast enough and I actually shifted. I could just imagine him holding me for a little too long, and then he opens his eyes and looks down and sees not the Tsuki he knows and cares for, but a stranger with furry wolf ears and a big bushy tail. _How betrayed will he feel when he learns the truth?_

When I reached school, I realized I was there much earlier than normal. I left at the same time I do when I walk with Keiko. I was probably here at the normal time for once. What would I do with all this extra time? Maybe I could go see if Kurama actually works on botany projects here. I walk through the building, signing in on my way through the main office, and head to the greenhouse. I see the door is unlocked so I head inside. He raises his gaze from the potted plant he is pruning and turns to me. The surprised smile alone is worth it.

"I got here too early and realized I have no life of my own. I can leave if you want."

"No please stay, it'd be nice to have company who I can still work around."

"I imagine the rest of the botany club doesn't approve of your demonic plant magic?" I step into the greenhouse pulling out one of the stools and taking a seat. I scrunch my nose at a weird smell floating from the depths of the greenhouse.

"No. But they seem to enjoy the results...are you alright?" He looks at me while using his energy to make a droopy plant look greener.

"Yeah. One of these plants just smells awful."

"Oh?" He tilts his head. "What does it smell like?"

"Uh...like gasoline and oranges...maybe a bit of ammonia too." He squints and heads towards the back of the greenhouse, and returns with a rather pretty pink and yellow flower.

"This?" I hesitantly sniff and I am hit with the bad smell.

"Oh yeah. You would think for it to be so pretty it wouldn't smell that bad."

"You could really smell this all the way back there?" _Oh shit._ "I can only faintly smell it when I am this close, and most people can only smell it when they damage the leaves."

"I have a good nose. I would like to say it's a gift, but it's not. There are a lot more things in this world that smell bad than smell good." He chuckles,

"That is very true. I'll put this back, and see what I can do."

"What do you mean?" I call after him, but moments later, I see him coming back with a small pot of lavender, and sits it on the desk in front of me.

"Better?"

"Much. Thank you. Is this normal lavender?"

"It is. But if you'd like we can come back here at lunchtime, and I can show you what it looks like when grown under a demon's energy?"

"That sounds amazing. Is it pretty?"

"It is." He continues to flow around the greenhouse, healing dying blooms and pruning things. To me, there doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason behind his actions. But I am sure he knows what he is doing. I watch him clip a bloom off of a flower, it is a pale pink and white at the center, he walks over to me and places it in my hair just above my ear. "This is a desert rose. Very beautiful. But also deadly. It reminds me of you."

"You put a poisonous plant in my hair?" I tease.

"It's only dangerous if you eat it, or put its sap on arrows, which was common in its native areas..."

"I will try to resist the temptation."

"Shall we get to class?" He asks, extending his hand to me, and I take it.

"If this falls out and I don't notice, it won't kill anyone right?"

"Any animals that find it will be able to sense that it is dangerous, and any human that sees a flower on the ground and is foolish enough to eat it probably deserves to die."

"Darwinism?"

"Exactly."

* * *

 **Kurama**

We have been in this _relationship_ for over six months. Yet she still continues to surprise and impress me. Taking this new more _physical_ step in our relationship is both intriguing and worrisome. Every touch...every kiss is so electric and exciting, I have never felt anything like it before. The sensation of contact between us has always been pleasant, but when I feel it through my lips or through hers, it incites something almost _primal._ I haven't felt a kiss like that since probably the first one, and with her _every_ kiss is like it. We are playing with fire. We both know it. I feel like she knows what will happen if we touch for too long, or if we truly kissed, but she doesn't want me to know. But I worry that eventually one of us will get carried away and do something reckless.

A classmate's voice from behind me drags me from my thoughts, "Hey Tsuki, you look really beautiful today...That flower really suits you." _Oh? This one bypassed me completely and went straight to her. This should be interesting._

I heard her voice. "Oh um, thank you." She seemed dismissive. Will he take the hint or try again? I heard a chair being pulled out, _he was trying to sit beside her?_ I wanted to see her face, but I knew turning around would be suspicious, and I was kind of curious to see how it goes on its own.

"I liked when the teacher read your essay to us in Literature last week. Your interpretations of Nietzsche are really beautiful." The boy said, I could hear his stutter.

"I wouldn't call it interpretations. That is just just what it says if you read it in its original german. Lost in translation was kind of the point of the essay." She replied with such sarcasm. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Oh, so you speak german?" He spoke again, you had to commend his dedication.

"I can read and write it. Pronunciation is a bitch."

The boy laughs awkwardly, if he was uncomfortable around profanity, he really wasn't prepared for Tsuki. "Oh, yeah, I bet. I always thought german sounded angry."

"It does. Part of the reason I like it. They also have words that describe feelings that don't exist in other languages. They also tend to combine words with other words to create giant franken-words. Because, fuck spaces between words, am I right?"

I heard his uncomfortable laugh again, and then I heard the chair move. "Yeah..heh. Well it's almost time for class to start. I'll talk to you later, Tsuki."

"Guten tag!" She said, almost too cheerfully. I heard her close her book and begin writing. A page rip. Crumpling. And then a moment later a wadded up piece of paper landed in front of me. I smiled as I uncrumpled it. **You helped me with Matsuda when we weren't even speaking but you couldn't help me with that twat? Some kinda-boyfriend you are.** And then a drawing of what seemed to be an angry villager chasing a fox. _How cute._

I turn around, and she is already glaring at me, so I just give her a smirk and a wink. She sighs and shakes her head.

* * *

 **Luna**

We exited the classroom, I was careful not to make eye contact with that boy who tried to flirt with me. I don't even know his name. I felt Kurama playfully bump into my hip with his as we split from the crowd heading to the cafeteria and towards our own spot. Once the door was closed and we were alone, I turned to him, and pointed to the flower in my hair, "Was this a trap so you could get your laughs off of my misery?"

He stepped closer to me, "Purely coincidence. Though you have to give the boy credit for trying." He reached forward and pushed some of my hair behind my ear, "And can you blame him? You are beautiful."

I stepped back with my hands on my hips, "Are you being intentionally charming to try to make it up to me?"

"Perhaps...is it working?"

"Nope." I sit down on the bench, and take out the bag of cheese crackers I packed this morning.

"No lollipop? Has our time living in domestic bliss caused you to lose your edge?"

"Getting tired of them. I still have one on me in case I need to use it like a prison shank though."

"Thinking ahead...that's why I like you." I smiled, and ate a cracker. "You know. You never seemed phased when I or someone else compliments your appearance, but you always seem to enjoy compliments on your mind.

"Cause my looks aren't _me,_ they are just the body I happen to be in. You should understand that more than most." I eat another cracker. "I am my mind. Looks are temporary. The mind and the soul are what is important."

"So you would like me just as much in my demon form?"

"Yes. Assuming you are still you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You were different then...I like who you are now. I respect who you were, but the person I care for is the person you are now."

"How do you think I have changed?"

"I don't think it's so much that you changed...but that you _grew._ The Yoko Kurama known for his cunning, intelligence, and ruthlessness is still very much a part of you. But during your time here in the human world you have also humanized. You have a greater pension for compassion, sympathy, and loyalty... I am assuming you didn't have many friends you really cared about as Yoko, and the ones you did you probably never told them or showed them."

"You are right. I really only ever had one partner that I considered a friend. Everyone else was just useful...I didn't realize how much I really cared until he was dead."

"I am sure he knew..." Kurama raised an eyebrow. "If he was close enough to you and intelligent enough to be your only friend, I am sure he knew you cared. You may think you are mysterious, but once I got close to you, you have some pretty obvious tells."

"I still wish I could have told him. I wish I could have done something to save him... I just left him there to die alone." He seemed so distant. So mournful. I had never really seen him like this.

"Was there anything you could have done?"

"No, even if I had gotten him out of there, his injuries were too severe..."

"Then I am sure he was just happy to see you get out of there alive. If you had tried to save him and died yourself, he would have spent his last moments knowing he was the reason his friend died."

"I guess you are right. But still..."

"Yeah... you still miss him, and it still hurts. That will never go away." I slid my hand across the table, and he grabbed it. Entwining our fingers in the middle of the table. His eyes seemed to brighten at the gesture.

"Are you still mad at me for leaving you to reject that boy all by yourself?"

"I wasn't mad. I was joking. If i was really mad you wouldn't have gotten a cartoon, I would have just hit you."

"I'll still help out in the future, unless you have changed your mind about letting our _relationship_ be public?"

"I told you. It's not about it being a secret. I am just not a huge fan of PDA in general. Unless it's funny. Like when you pretended to be my boyfriend to help me with Matsuda, that was pretty great."

"Affection for the sake of comedy. Got it."

"Lunch is almost over. Lavender thing next time?"

"That sounds fine."

* * *

 **Kurama**

I was sitting in my last class, reading my novel when I saw someone come to stand beside Tsuki in the row of desks in front of me. She was one of the more popular girls in school. Her name escaped me, "You need to stay away from my boyfriend." Her voice was high pitched and had an edge to it. I looked up, and she was standing beside the seated Tsuki with her arms crossed in front of her.

Tsuki glanced up, "What?" She sounded very unamused.

"You heard me. Stay away from my boyfriend..." I saw Tsuki blink slowly and I knew there was an eyeroll underneath. "My friend said she saw you talking in your first period."

Tsuki squinted, "That is your boyfriend? Are you sure he knows this?" I covered my mouth to hide my smile. "Cause the last time you spoke to me was about three weeks ago when you told me to 'stay away from Shuichi' and I am fairly certain he didn't know he was your boyfriend." She used one hand to make the air quotes so non-chalantly.

"That was different! Haru _is_ my boyfriend."

"Then shouldn't you be yelling at him, instead of me?" Tsuki stated dismissively and turned back to her book. This seemed to upset the loud girl, because she reached forward and took Tsuki's book from her hand and slammed it on the table.

"Look at me when I am talking to you! Don't you have anything to say for yourself!?"

Tsuki clenched her fists and then took a deep breath. Standing to face the girl and locking her hands together so both pointers made a single arrow. "Okay listen, the fact that you are standing here yelling at me means that you are very insecure in your relationship. If you have to threaten girls your Haru talks to so you know he won't cheat on you, you probably shouldn't be with him. Also it is incredibly stupid to stake your happiness on a fleeting high school romance either."

"Are you calling me stupid for having a boyfriend?"

"No, I am saying it is stupid to put this much effort into a relationship that obviously isn't mature enough to last through the week, much less the rest of your lives." Tsuki was keeping her voice calm and even, and I think that was upsetting the girl even further.

"Oh what do you know about relationships! You aren't even in one because nobody would ever date a slob like you!"

This looked like the point of maximum comical value, considering the entire classroom was now staring at the yelling girl. "That isn't true." I spoke loud enough for the room to hear me, but remained perfectly calm and kind just as Shuichi always is. "Actually, she has been in a relationship for over six months now."

"With who?!" The girl yelled, obviously in denial. She had tried to garner my attentions on several occasions.

"With me." I stated calmly. I heard several quiet gasps and then heard the murmurs as the people in the room discussed the events unfolding before them.

"Then why didn't she tell anyone?" She was still yelling, but I could hear her voice was beginning to give way to tears. I didn't know who the question was directed at, but Tsuki answered.

"Because I don't have to threaten the girls he talks to to know he isn't cheating on me." And that was the last straw it seemed, because the girl grabbed the bathroom pass from the wall and ran out the door.

Everyone was still glancing between Tsuki and I, some were giggling. She looked to me, "Well that was fun." She pulled her chair back so she could sit but still look at me. "Bitch gave me a paper cut." She held her pointer finger with a small red cut, and I saw another opportunity I just couldn't pass up.

I reached out and brought her her finger back to my face, planting a gentle kiss in the general area of the wound, there was a chorus of girls gasping from the rest of the room, and I knew it had worked as intended. "Better?"

"Yes Shuichi. Your saliva in my open wound will be greatly beneficial to the healing process." She smirked as she joked. Several girls in the room gasped, apparently shocked that she would talk to me in such a way.

"It's the thought that counts, right?"

"Yeah yeah. Thank you."

I lean forward, putting my lips to her ear, more gasps around the room, "Comical enough for you?"

I pulled away, and she gently pulled my ear to her lips "It was great. I couldn't have planned it better. We made that bitch cry."

I leaned back and sat back down, and I leaned forward, still whispering, "You know this whole room is staring at us right? I think a majority of the girls are jealous of you."

She leaned forward too, seemingly getting as close to my face as she could before we touched, "I know. It's kinda nice. I know they are all going to either interrogate or attempt to murder me later. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it."

Moments later, the teacher entered the room, and Tsuki righted her seat. Taking her multilanguage notes as usual.

* * *

 **Luna**

When class let out, Kurama and i walked out together. His arm was around my waist and I leaned into his embrace. "You don't think this is too much?" I whispered.

"I am not doing it for _them._ " he spoke softly, and I smiled into his chest. I really was enjoying this too much.

As we approached the edge of the gates, I pulled away. "I am gonna go visit friends out of town today."

He looked concerned, "Alone?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I do it a lot."

He smiled gently, but I could tell he was still worried. It was kind of nice to be worried about. "Alright, just don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"I won't. I will see you tomorrow." We smiled at each other, and we walked in the respective directions of our homes, and as soon as I was out of sight, I shifted to run home.

I changed my clothes swiftly, and found Hiro in his bedroom.

"If anyone calls or comes by, I am visiting friends out of town."

"Alright." He mumbles, not even bothering to look up from his murder mystery.

Ice apparitions create Hiruseki stones. So my old _friends_ in the black-black club are probably a good place to start. _But if they have her I won't be able to save her. I killed too many of them. They all have silver cores in their bullets now just in case I come for them. Well if I can find her, I will at least help._

* * *

By around ten PM I had returned back to near home. She was being held by Tarukane, who of course is one of the few that still owns a skinwalker skull and is such waiting for me to come and get it. I couldn't save her, and if Hiei found her in those conditions he would slaughter every human in that place...He is still being watched by spirit world. They would sent him straight to hell. _Fuck._ I wrote down all the information needed to find her in spirit ink on a small piece of spirit paper, and then I went to the only person I knew trusted me.

I looked into Keiko's window, she was at her desk doing homework. At least she wasn't asleep. I gently knocked on her window, trying hard not to scare her, but she still started. I was wearing relatively normal clothes so my face was in plain sight.

"Luna, oh my gosh!" She stood up and opened the window and I hopped inside. I noticed her looking at my tail. I guess she didn't see it before. "But I didn't call..."

"I know. I actually need your help. Do you have any way of getting in contact with Botan?"

"No. Yusuke says she only shows up when she is giving him new orders from spirit world. Why?"

"I need to get a message to spirit world, and you trust her, so I thought I could too..."

"Maybe Kurama or Hiei knows how to do it?"

"Hiei can't know about this...but you are right.. Kurama might know how to get in touch with Koenma."

"Why can't Hiei know? I thought he was our friend..."

"No he is. As far as I can tell..."

I hand her the piece of paper, "Here is the technical information, I can just tell you the basics if you are okay with knowing..."

"Yeah, I want to know, I want to help!" She looks at the paper, "This is blank"

"Its spirit ink, it only appears if the reader has enough spirit energy. It's so the wrong people can't read it."

"Oh I see."

I sit down cross legged on the floor, wrapping my tail around my leg, and Keiko follows my lead and sits on the ground in front of me. "I am going to preface this by saying I watch you and your friends. I hope that isn't too creepy, but I have to do it to keep everyone safe."

"Oh I understand. I trust you." She smiles at me, I see her glancing at my tail, and she sees that I notice. "Sorry, it just looks so fluffy." I laugh.

"It is. The hair is a lot courser than a dog's though. You can touch it if you want. No pressure if you don't though."

She cautiously reaches forward and pets my tail. It tickles a bit. "Thank you." She giggles.

"Okay Business!" she looks at me, and makes a serious face, and nods. "So Hiei has a sister that doesn't know about him. This sister has been kidnapped by some very evil humans who are torturing her. She needs to be saved, but Hiei can't find out about it."

"Why not?"

"It is the death penalty for a demon to kill a human, regardless of the circumstances."

"Hiei would kill them, and then Spirit World would have to punish him..."

"Right. So we need to make sure Spirit World fixes this before Hiei figures it out himself. Just a warning, they will probably send Yusuke to save her. This is the kind of thing he would be good at. I wanted to do it myself, but I couldn't..."

"Why not, I thought you were super powerful, if you can't do it how can Yusuke?"

"I heard you talking to your friends, I know they told you about my people and how our bones are treasures?" She nods. "Well I have spent many millennia trying to find the remains of my people and giving them proper burials in our homeland... Well, your friends were right, I do have weaknesses, and if you are familiar at all with human legends you know what they are."

"Is it silver?" Keiko replies without hesitation. _Damn movies._

"Yep. I knew you were clever...the problem is that that is basically common knowledge, and since the man who has Hiei's sister also has one of the few skulls I haven't _repossessed_ he will have his men prepared to deal with me. He can afford to have all his henchmen equipped with silver bullets. I am worth far more dead than alive."

"I see. I am sorry."

"Don't apologize. You have done nothing wrong...do you know what you need to do?"

"I need to take this note to Kurama and tell him what you told me, and get him to take it to Spirit World."

"Right. Good job." I stood up, "I need to be going. I am a busy wolf. You know how to contact me if you need me. I am trusting you to get that note to Spirit World. If Kurama can't do it, you need to find someone who can."

"I can handle it!" She spoke with such determination. She was such a great person. My tail wagged involuntarily. _Shit._

"Be safe Keiko!" I hopped out the window and made my way towards the dojo.


	13. Truth

~~NOTES~~~

Sorry for the delay. there is a week left in the semester, and that basically means I am in hell until finals. I sleep in two hour intervals, and I live off of chicken noodle soup and capri-sun. Enjoy the chapter, may it bring you a smile!

-Jumb

* * *

*" _The truth is rarely pure and never simple." -Oscar Wilde*_

I was a little worried when I didn't get a call from Keiko that morning. I figured she would call me to figure out how to find Kurama, since she only knew him through me. I trusted her though. I knew she would get the message to him. I went to school anyways. Knowing that I could leave at least thirty minutes later and still make it on time.

Kurama and I spent the day as we usually do, though with slightly more casual conversation before class. At lunch time he showed me his powers for the first time, he plucked a piece of the lavender, and then it turned from a stalk into more of a branching tree, and each petal became a bloom of its own. He told me to put my hand closer, and the vines of the lavender twisted and grew around my fingers. It was strange and beautiful. Just like Kurama.

Surprisingly no girls confronted me. They all stared at me as I passed them, either in fear or awe, but none of them said anything to me. The girl we made cry yesterday wouldn't even look me in the face. I wondered if they were just in the denial stage of this grief.

We left school holding hands, but before we could decide whose place we wanted to have dinner at, I heard Keiko approaching, "Tsuki! Shuichi!" We both turned to look at her. I was impressed she remembered to use his human name. She ran up to us, out of breath. "I need to talk to you... in private."

Kurama spoke, "I can leave..."

"No!" Keiko exclaimed, "I need to talk to both of you. Somewhere secure." Kurama gave me a knowing look, so I replied,

"Okay, we can go to the dojo. Is that good?" Keiko nodded, and the three of us walked back to the dojo in silence.

Once the door was closed, she glanced around the room, apparently seeing if Hiro was around, "Kurama, do you have a way of taking a message to Spirit World?"

"Yes I can...why? What is going on?" Her sense of urgency was rubbing off on Kurama.

"I have a message from Luna."

"Your wolf friend?" I asked. Must play the role...

"Yeah. Did you know Hiei had a sister?"

"Yes but that's..." Kurama began to speak but Keiko cut him off,

"Apparently she has been kidnapped by some bad humans, and if someone doesn't rescue her before Hiei finds out, bad things are gonna happen." She hands Kurama the piece of paper. "She said that was the technical information."

Kurama dragged his fingers along the paper, reading the ink as it began to glow.

"Is that spirit ink? What does it say?" I asked. It was rare. It was a valid question.

"Yes it is. And it is a name, and and address, and several bits of information like security codes and guards names. This must be all the information she had on where they are holding Yukina... You are sure we can trust this demon, Keiko?"

"I trust her"

"Why didn't she just save Yukina herself?" I asked. Again. Valid question. Play the role.

"Apparently she has been stealing back the skulls of her people, and this guy has one, but he has precautions in place to stop her. He knows what can kill her, and he knows she is coming eventually."

"If he knows how to kill her, he knows he can get another skull out of the deal if he does." Kurama chimes in. "Not to mention all the other body parts. She would be worth a fortune. Going in there would be suicide for her...I can take this information to Koenma, he will probably want to look into it himself first. And then I am sure he will send Yusuke to rescue her."

He turns to Keiko, "Thank you Keiko, and if you see Luna again, thank her too. If Hiei found out first, he may have saved her, but he would have received eternal damnation in the process."

Keiko nodded, "She told me that."

"I can take care of this...Tsuki?" He turned to me, "I can go to spirit world the same way Botan does, but I need somewhere to leave my body. I will probably need to stay there to help until this matter is resolved."

"What will you tell Shiori?"

"When I get to Spirit World Koenma will help me convince her it is a school trip. We have done this before."

"What about the note?"

"Since it is spirit ink, I will be able to take it with me."

"Well that is convenient."

"It would appear as though this Luna is quite resourceful. And considering the only thing she could possibly gain from this is getting that skull, but she didn't ask for that, it appears like we can trust her, at least marginally."

Keiko looks shocked, "I didn't think about that. She didn't even mention getting the skull for her..."

"Did she say why she wants them?" Kurama asked.

"She said she was giving them proper burials." Keiko says mournfully.

"I'll mention to Yusuke to keep a look out for it." Kurama states. I was surprised. They don't even know me. Why would they do that for me?

Keiko looked between us, "I need to be getting home. Dinner rush is almost here."

"Okay. Thank you. Be careful!" I hugged her, and she left the dojo. I turned to Kurama, "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Probably several days."

"Okay come on." I start to head up the stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"I can't have your comatose body on my couch for several days! Where will Hiro watch TV?!"

"So where are you putting me?"

"My bed."

"Where will you sleep?"

"I don't sleep much, but I can sleep on the couch or just sleep beside you." He raised a brow, "Unless you have a problem with that?"

"No, just a little jealous of my own body. I'd rather be present for that." he jokes, and I laugh. We enter my room, and he sits on my bed.

"Do you want me on top of the covers?"

"No. Under, if you are laying on top, I won't be able to get under there." He gave me a sly smile and crawled under the covers, making sure to get as close to the wall as he could so I could have room to sleep.

"See you in a few days, Tsuki..."

"Goodluck, Kurama." He smiled, and closed his eyes. A few moments later I felt his presence leave the room. I reached out and gently touched his hand. _No zap._ I don't understand... Just his spirit is gone, his energy is still there... I touched his hand again with my whole hand. Still nothing. _Then it's not an energy thing...It means it has to do with the spirit._

I crawl into bed and lay beside him on top of the covers. I cover my face with my hands and open a connection to Kuro. Asking if he is able to talk.

"Hey Luna, what's up?"

"I am an idiot playing with fire."  
"What kind of fire?"

"The kind of fire that is going to burn my life to the ground."

"Okay, I am getting the feeling this has something to do with your almost-relationship with Dreamboat?"  
"Yeah, We have admitted that we care about each other, and we have experimented with kissing ears and necks and such."

"Oh shit! Is he good at it?"

"Very. Oh so very good at it. That is the problem!"

"One of you is gonna lose control and actually kiss."

"Yeah."

"Or touch too long and make you shift."

"Yeah."

"Oh and about the zapping feeling. It doesn't happen if the spirit isn't in the body, even if the spirit energy remains. What do you make of that?"

"I am more concerned about how you came across this information."

"He is visiting spirit world, so I am currently laying next to his comatose body that is in my bed."

"That is the kinkiest shit I have ever heard."

"Kuro! Focus!"

"Oh right yeah...I really think it is a mating mechanism. I don't know much beyond that."

"Has it ever _actually_ made you shift?"

"No, but I have also never had a connection as strong as the one you describe. You have to remember, emotions played a very small part in all of my encounters. You two have nothing but emotions."

"If it's for mating, why would emotions control it?"

"Don't wolves traditionally mate for life?"

"When we were normal, yeah. But that tradition dissolved so we could keep the population up when we began to be hunted."

"But it is still in your nature?"

"We do have an affinity towards life bonds, yes, but then why do you feel it? You aren't a wolf."

"But I am a skin-walker. Which derived from the wolves."

"Maybe you are right... oh one more thing, when he kisses me, the buzz doesn't feel much different from any other contact, but apparently, when I kiss him it is much more intense."

"You are masking your energy, right? Keeping it from crossing between you?"

"Yeah?"

"That doesn't work on your lips. Fun fact. So when you kiss him, he feels the full connection."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah. I am sure it felt fucking great."

"He did growl."

"He growled? That sounds hot."

"It was...I came a little."

I felt him laugh, "Well with the truth comes out, and you convince him to forgive you for your tapestry of lies, just imagine all the great sex you are gonna have."

"Easier said than done, Kuro... I moved past the grace period of coming clean a long time ago."

"Oh ask any demon in a relationship if theirs didn't start off with lies, and if they say no, they are a fucking liar. Demons lie to each other. Its how we stay alive. If he cares about you the way it seems like he does, he will get the fuck over it."

I turn to look at Kurama's sleeping face next to me.

"Oh, is that him? He is hot."

"You can see him through me?"

"Yeah. You were looking at him awfully hard. Lotta feelings, so I could see it well enough. You didn't know we could do that?"

"No? Why would I ever need to do that?"

"It has to have some purpose..."

"How is infiltration going?"

"Fucking terrible. They say Yomi can hear everything that goes on in his territory, so I have to be super careful."

"That sounds like meaningless bragging."

"Well, I don't wanna risk it, aiight?"

"Point taken...Oh by the way, I am kind of a double agent now. I let Keiko see the real me to save her life. So now I have a mental link to her and protecting her is much easier."

"So she knows Tsuki...and Luna...but doesn't know they are the same person?"

"Right."

"You weave quite the quilt of untruths Luna...It's impressive really. How do you even keep track of your own lies?"

"I'll slip up eventually. It will be my downfall. I have accepted this fact."

"Well at least you know...Knowing is half the battle, right?"

"Yeah, something like that."

* * *

I spent the next few days in far more normalcy than I like. I walked to school alone. Spent my schooldays alone, except for the occasional person brave enough to ask me where Shuichi was. _He is on a trip. Obviously._ Then after school, I would either hang out with Keiko or help Hiro with classes. On the weekend I helped Hiro with classes and spent time with Keiko and the guys. And every night I slept next to the body of the man I cared for, knowing he wasn't in it.

It was mildly disorienting. I would go to sleep civilly sleeping beside him, but when I would wake up I would find myself tangled up in him. My head in his arm, and my right arm and right leg thrown over him. It was like my body had a mind of its own, and it wanted to be as close to him as possible. Honestly, the nights I slept beside him were some of the best sleeps of my life. Even if he wasn't actually in his body, it was like the warmth and smell of him comforted me enough to keep the nightmares away. Is this sort of necrophilia?

The next week, Keiko's classes began again. So I walked her to class that day just as we did before the Saint Beasts fucked everything up. When I met her after school I expected her to want to walk home with Yusuke and Kuwabara, but she said they were going to watch a video from Spirit World at Kuwabara's.

"They didn't seem to want me to be there, and the both of us know what it is anyway."

"But you don't want to tell them your involvement in it?"

"Nope. I think the less everyone knows about Luna the better...She is trying to help me...and not just that, she is trying to help my friends too... I don't want to endanger her any more than she already is."

"That's thoughtful Keiko. I am sure she appreciates it."

"I just can't imagine the things she has been through. When she spoke, she made it seem like she was the last of her people... I can't imagine how lonely she must feel."

"It's okay Keiko, I am sure she has someone she can turn to." I smile at her, and pull her into a one armed hug as we walk.

When we got to the dojo, the two of us watched TV and exchanged gossip for the majority of the night. Then I walked her home and returned to the Dojo on my own. I thought about waiting for Kurama to wake up since Yusuke was on the case all day today, I thought that might mean he will wake up soon, but I suppose not. I laid down beside him. Once more, trying to stay on my on side. We will see how that works out.

* * *

 **Kurama**

"Well we've got a full house huh?" Yusuke spoke, and Hiei walked away.

"Well sort of. I am only here in spirit... That is why I need to ask you two a favor since I am not really here."

"What sort of favor?" Botan asks.

"I need to find Tarukane's treasure room."

"Going back to your roots eh?" Yusuke jokes, and Botan hits him.

"It's not for me. I will explain when we find it."

* * *

The three of us eventually find a glass display case containing a small skull. The plaque reads, "Skull of a Skin-Walker, the rarest of Demons"

"So that is what Keiko's wolf friend looks like huh? I imagined her bigger." Yusuke joked as we looked at the display.

"She is...This is the skull of a child, Yusuke." I replied as coolly as I could. Knowing what had happened and seeing the results in a display case were different.

"What? They killed kids?"

"They killed all of them...The kids were the easiest targets. Spirit World paid the same amount regardless."

Botan clasped her hands over her mouth, "I still can't believe that this happened."

"We are here to collect that skull." I brought the topic back on track. Dwelling on the sins of the past wouldn't change anything.

"Why?" Botan asked, she seemed on the verge of tears.

"Luna came to Keiko with all of the information about Yukina. She wanted Spirit World to save her before Hiei found her and earned himself a sentence to hell. I figured the least we could do is give her the thing she wanted."

"Why does she want it, though?" Yusuke asked.

"So she can honor the dead. I didn't remember until now, but I think I met her before... Centuries ago, my team and I were raiding a vault, and we heard all of the guards we had snuck past die, and approaching us was a woman. She almost looked, human, but her energy was far too strong. It didn't feel like a demon either. I had never felt anything like her. She told us that we could have everything else, all she wanted was a skull. I reached into the sack of the treasure, and I pulled out a skull, and the look on her face was pain. She said it was her mother's and she wanted to bury her. She seemed sad, but I knew from the death left in her wake that I should just hand over what she wanted. So I did, and then she teleported away."

Yusuke punched through the glass of the display case and put wrapped the skull in his overshirt. "We will make sure she gets it then..." He began to walk away, "Wait, how do we even contact her?"

"She watches Keiko, can't we just give it to her to transfer it?" Botan suggested.

"I don't really think Keiko should have to handle the skull of a demon baby."

"Oh you are right. Drat!" Botan exclaimed.

I made my recommendation. "When you get back, take it to Tsuki's dojo. I will pick it up from there, and we will tell Keiko to tell Luna that I have it. I would like to meet her, and see if it truly is the same person."

"Whatever you say, Kurama" Yusuke exited the building, but I noticed the care in which he regarded the skull. He seemed to respect the tragedy that had occurred.

* * *

When I returned to my body, I noticed I felt _heavier._ And then I felt the tingling. I opened my eyes and say Tsuki's head asleep on my chest. Her arm was across my waist, and her leg was on top of mine. I was about to wake her up when I heard her speak. "No...no...Kurama..." I could hear her heavy breathing, _I think she is having a nightmare._ "I lied...about alot...but never...how...I felt..." She was starting to move a bit. "Forgive me...please...I'm...sorry"

"Tsuki?" I said loud enough to wake her, and her eyes opened almost instantly as she gasped and fell off the bed, hitting the ground with a thud. "Tsuki, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, how did everything go?"

"Yukina is safe. Hiei isn't in a Spirit World Jail, and Yusuke and Kuwabara are both safe as well. Everything worked out."

She smiled at me from the floor. "That is great."

"Oh and I need to warn you, we found the skull. I told Yusuke to bring it here so that I could give it to Luna."

"Why not just give it to Keiko?" She asked, still rubbing her head.

"Because Keiko shouldn't really be tasked with handling a demon skull, and also, I think I have met her before, and I would like to see if that is true."

"You met her?"

"I think so. As Yoko of course...many centuries ago."

"What was she like?"

"At the time, I saw her with cold indifference, but looking back now... she seemed... alone."

"What do you mean?"

I covered my mouth with my hand, "She seemed like she was looking for meaning. I got the feeling that I was the first person she had spoken to in some time...and I just handed her the skull of her mother like it was just a _thing._ At the time, I didn't understand the pain in her eyes. I didn't understand why she was looking at me like I was the monster. But I understand now... All I wanted was the treasure, and all she wanted was respect for her mother, and I handed it to her like it was just a piece of jewelry...I acted like it was an _inconvenience_ to me."

Tsuki got off the floor and joined me on the bed. "Now I am putting myself in her place... What if that were my mother's skull and someone treated me like that for caring about her burial...or treated _her_ like that?" I felt her put her arm around me. "I wasn't a good person then Tsuki...am I really any better now?"

"The fact that you see your errors now, answers that." I turn to face her and I see tears in her eyes, and she gives me a soft smile. We hear a knock at the door. "That is probably Yusuke. I should get that... You stay here and go back to sleep. I'll lock up when I leave."

She gives me a sleepy smile and curls up in the bed. I close her bedroom door and then exit her home. Locking the door before I close it behind me. I see Yusuke standing awkwardly on the porch. "Here is the package." He hands me a box, and I can feel the weight of the skull inside.

"Thanks Yusuke."

"No problem. I am going to head home now. I will talk to you later, Kurama." He calls after me as he begins to walk down the dark street, and I look at the box in my hand, wondering how I am going to contact Luna when I sense a presence behind me.

I turn to look and I see a woman, and she is just how Keiko described. She has long black hair up in a tail, but there are strands of white that seem to reflect the moonlight. Her ears are shorter and thicker than mine were. I can see her fangs sticking out just past her lips. She described the eyes correctly. They were so deep of a blue they were almost black. But somehow they seemed so familiar. But one thing Keiko failed to mention how _beautiful_ she was. I felt guilty for thinking it, since I was in a relationship with a girl who was sleeping in the house whose porch we were standing on. I saw the motion as her tail flicked behind her. Shorter and denser than mine was, with a white tip.

"How did you know to come?" I ask her.

"I watch all of you. Not just Keiko." Her voice was pleasant, but again, it seemed somehow familiar.

"We have met before haven't we? When I was Yoko Kurama?"

"We did."

"I am sorry. I realize now how uncaring I was for your situation. I won't make the same mistake again." I extended the box to her, meeting her eyes with mine and trying to convey all the sympathy and guilt that I feel.

She takes the box from my hands and looks down at it. "I heard you talking to the girl. Keiko's friend, Tsuki...I forgive you."

I looked at her in shock. I wasn't sure if I was more shocked that she was listening, or that she forgave me. "I don't deserve it."

"Yes, you do. You are a better person than you think, Kurama." She gave me a half smile, and I could see her fangs even clearer. "Would you like to come with me somewhere? I promise I will bring you back."

"Where will you take me?"

"Demon World. I need to give this child a burial and there is something there that I think you might like."

I narrowed my eyes at her, every instinct told me to say no. That this was a trap. But for some reason, I felt like I could trust her. "Okay."

She nodded, and then I watched her unwrap a rope from around her waist, and she handed me the end. I could see her claws. They were much thicker than mine were, but also much duller. The differences between a wolf and a fox. "Don't let go." She raises her right hand and appears to cut a hole in space, and then she steps inside. I follow behind her, holding tightly to the rope, for a few moments, the two of us are floating through pseudo space, and a second later, we reach the other side. I know from the smell we are definitely in Demon World. However looking around, I recognize no landmarks. This isn't somewhere I have seen before.

Looking around me I see several smooth stones in the dirt, most with names carved into them, some without. I realize they are all makeshift graves. I look back to Luna who had an amused look on her face, and the box was sitting on the ground, "You can let go of the rope now." I look at my hands, I didn't even realize I was still holding it. I let it go, and she pulls it back to her, wrapping it around her waist once again. She kneels in front of the box, and then reaches inside, lifting the skull and bringing its forehead to her own.

"The bones hold memories...if you know how to look." She spoke softly. She placed the skull gently back in the box as she began to dig a hole to her right. "He was just a pup. He hadn't even gotten a name from his pack yet...much less become a skin-walker...He was lost and hungry and just looking for his mother." She placed the skull in the hole and covered it, placing a smooth stone over the top. She turned to look at me, "Sorry. Tradition" and then she transformed into a very large black wolf. She raised her nose to the sky, and she howled, just like the wolves of human world. Except the sound was much more haunting. It felt like it rattled me to my bones, and after a second, it was over, and she transformed back to her regular form.

She stood up, "Thank you for bringing him to me."

I nod. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"What did you mean, become a skin-walker?"

"It was sort of a mutation...There was a ritual...It was a choice. Most didn't want to change, but they all paid the price for those of us that did." She stepped in front of me, seemingly walking with a purpose, "Come." We walked for a few minutes, it seemed like we weren't heading anywhere, but then the ground started to look like it was a slightly different color, and she stops.

"I know you like plants...and three thousand years ago, where we are standing was a field of demonid roses." I turned to look at her. _Could it really be?_

"I thought there might be seeds or something you could use to regrow them...I don't know what to look for, but I thought you might like the chance to try."

I spent much of my life looking for information about those roses. I could never find any place that they had been, or any way to find them. Could she have known?

"Why are you looking at me like that? We don't have to... Fuck..."

"No no...it's just...I spent a very long time looking for these roses. I guess because they were a myth...I never thought..." She smiled at me, and it seemed so familiar.

"I can do the digging if you tell me what to look for. Nothing has grown here since them. The land was burned and salted."

"They wanted you to starve?" She nodded. I dropped to the ground, and she joined about a meter away. "If they look anything like normal rose seeds, they would look almost like apple seeds, but smaller." She dug her claws into the ground in front of me, breaking through the hard shell of char on the ground, and turning up the soil underneath. She kept digging as I looked through the dirt she had tilled. I could smell blood, but I didn't comment on it. After several minutes I found one. "I have one!" It was small and black, and it did look different than that of a normal rose. I looked in the same section of dirt and found three more. One of these would be viable under my care, and I could use it to resurrect a dead species.

I looked at her, and I couldn't contain my smile. This is something I have wanted for centuries, and now I hold it in my hand. She returned my smile and stood up, shaking the dirt off her hands. "You are bleeding, let me..." I reached for her hand, but she pulled it away so swiftly, I feared for my life for a moment.

"I am fine. I have survived far worse than some ripped cuticles. I assure you..." She looked at my hand holding the seeds. "You get what you wanted?"

"Yes... I don't know how I could possibly repay you for this."

"Just grow them, and let me smell them again. They remind me of my mother." She smiled at me, and I cataloged this moment in my mind as a moment of great suspicion. One That I would analyze at a later date. "You ready to go back, or is there anything else you need in demon world? Although, I wouldn't recommend going anywhere else. _I_ may know you are a demon. But you _smell_ like a human."

"I am ready." She begins to unwrap the rope again, and hands it to me, I can see her bloody fingers, and it still bothers me.

"Your home, Tsuki's, or somewhere else?"

"You can take me to my home?"

"Kurama, I can go anywhere that I have seen." She laughs as she slices another hole in space, and steps inside. I hold the rope tight, scared of what would happen if I separated from a portal demon within their portal. But after a moment, we arrive in the street just outside of my home.

"Can I ask you another question?" I ask, pushing my luck.

"Sure." She turns to face me, sticking her hands in the pockets of her pants and swishing her tail.

"Did you heal my mother?"

She smiles and looks at her feet. "She told you about that?"

"She did."

"I tried to save her life. But my powers weren't strong enough. But I could take away her pain, so I did that. She is a nice woman. I thought she deserved better. I am glad you were able to save her life. I am also glad you didn't die to do it."

"Thank you, Luna...for all of this."

"You are welcome, Kurama." And in an instant she disappears. I sneak inside my home, waking my mother just enough to let her know I was home safe from my trip, and then retreating to my room. I put the seeds in a safe location and sat on the bed. Trying to come to grips with all the clues that were piling up in front of me, but I didn't want to admit what they pointed to.


	14. Heaven & Earth

~~~NOTES~~

Alright ya'll. I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is, the semester is almost over, and I have been in the fic-writing spirit...But the bad news is that it isn't for this story, its for a Marvel fic I am too terrified to post. And more bad news is that this is the last chapter I have prepared for you. (I have more after this, but there are things I wanted to add to chapter 15 but haven't found the inspiration to write them.) I will _try_ to write the rest of chapter 15 so that we can continue, but I can't guarantee that will happen. Inspiration is a cruel mistress, and right now, my will to write is in other fandoms. SOOOOO I leave it up to you, my wonderful readers. If I DON'T finish chapter 15, I can still post it, it will be short, but it will allow me to continue posting the chapters I have. If you want me to post chapter 15, anyway, let me know, and I will do it.

* * *

*" _There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." -William Shakespeare*_

 **Kurama**

I told mother I needed a break from school to recuperate, and she allowed me the day off. I couldn't look at _her_ right now. Not before I had a chance to process the information properly. However, it seemed like that chance would never come, because not long into the day I sensed the presence of a demon nearby, and when I went to investigate, I learned that Yusuke and Kuwabara were the special guests of this year's Dark Tournament, and Hiei and I were required to be on his team.

Hiei had apparently received a similar message, because when I went to follow Yusuke on his date with Keiko and found him being threatened by Toguro, Hiei was right beside me.

"What are our chances?" I asked him.

"Don't ask." He walked away.

I sighed, looking down at my own hands before making my way out of the city. Myself and all of the people I had grown to care about were being threatened by the Dark Tournament, and the woman I cared about the most had been lying to me for the entire time I have known her. I can't do anything about the Dark Tournament right now, but I can face the other problem I have.

I approach the dojo and knock on the door, I hear Hiro yell for me to come in. Now is the time. I step into the large hall and look to my right to see Hiro and Tsuki both sitting at the table, and she looks at me with a smile. _It's the same smile...And her eyes may look different, but they feel the same._ "Hey, you weren't at school today? Are you alright?"

I give her a false smile, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Hiro looks to me with a shocked look on his face, "I'll be upstairs" Tsuki looks to him as he retreats from the room, and the sound of his steps as he retreats to the bedroom area.

"Yeah, of course." She asks, I can tell she is trying to remain hopeful, but I can see in her eyes, she fears what I will say next. She suspects that I know.

"I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer it honestly." She nodded slowly, "What _are_ you? Really?" I knew that was all I needed to say to tell her that I knew. Her jaw dropped and her chest depressed as if I had knocked the wind out of her. "That is what I thought..." I looked down at my feet. This hurt much more than I had thought it would. Betrayal was never an easy thing to stomach, but I had let her get so close, all the while everything was a lie.

She took a deep breathe. "Kurama...I am happy to answer all of your questions honestly." I chuckled at the irony and stepped towards her, trying to lower my rage to a cool simmer.

"Forgive me if I don't have faith in your _honesty._.." She looked at me with pain in her eyes, but that only seemed to fuel my pain even further. "You have given me no reason to think that _anything_ that has happened between us has been truth...And the pain I feel in conjunction with the _feelings_ I have had for you will make it impossible for me to accurately determine if you are lying to me _now._ "

She looked at me in stern defiance. I could see that she was also taking her pain in the form of anger. "Fine..." She clenched her fists. "Hiro! Come down here!" She called out, and moments later Hiro descended the stairs and looked at the two of us standing very close, but looking at each other in anger. She turned from me and looked to him. "Hiro. I need you to answer all of Kurama's questions honestly...and I mean _honestly._..I am _untrustworthy._ "

I turned to face him as well, and saw his expression of horror, "Does that mean...? Oh Fuck."

She nods, and heads towards the upstairs, Hiro calls after her, "Where are you going?"

"I will only make things worse here. I am going to see an old friend." She answers without even looking back at the two of us, and then Hiro turns to face me. He motions to the kitchen table.

"We might want to sit down for this. I am sure you are confused. I am going to give someone a call who will be able to answer more of your questions than I will."

I take a seat and Hiro takes a chair across from me, seemingly lost in thought. _Are they all telepathic?_

"He will be on his way as soon as he can get away from his work. I will answer what I can in the meantime."

I decide to start with a question I know the answer to, "What are you?"

"A skin-walker. A demon."

"So, everything you told me about your past was a lie?"

He cleared his throat, "Actually most of that was truth. I _was_ human. I was a demon hunter. I was betrayed by the people I worked for, and saved by a demon. Except that demon was Luna, and seeing as how I was basically dead, the only way to save me was to turn me...so to speak...The only lie was that Tsuki was my granddaughter, because Tsuki doesn't really exist, as you have figured out."

"You aren't a wolf demon?"

"No. The skin-walker powers began in wolves, but aren't limited to them. Luna is the only remaining wolf demon as far as we know. But there are currently three skin-walkers."

"Luna, yourself, and the friend you contacted?"

"Yes. Kuro. He is on his way."

"Why did she do all of this?"

"It began as a way to protect Keiko. Even before he was a spirit detective, Yusuke attracted demons. To stay close enough to help, she had to be with her. So she created Tsuki. At first, Tsuki was an act, but as she grew to actually care for the humans around her, she let more and more of her true self into Tsuki. She won't admit this, but I think by the time she met you, she was so sick of pretending that she was willing to take a chance on you."

"Did she know who I was?"

"No, she was quite surprised when she found out you were a demon."

I heard some movement from the hall, and I saw a figure stepping inside, I heard his voice before I turned to look at him. "So Luna's tapestry of lies finally collapsed on her, huh?"

I recognized that voice anywhere. I could never forget it, even though I knew who it was from his voice, I wasn't prepared for the sight of him. He dressed like he always did, the black vest and purple hat. The wrappings on his arms and legs, and sure enough, swinging around on his fingers, was the pendant he died for. He stood next to Hiro, and was looking right at me. I didn't know how to speak.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Never seen a bat demon before?" He turned to Hiro, "He is a demon, right? Or was Luna lying to me too?"

Hiro laughed lightly, "Kuro, this is Kurama, as in Yoko Kurama." I saw his eyes widen as he looked into mine, "Kurama this is..."

"Kuronue." I found my voice, and I saw him tense up and clench his teeth.

Hiro stood up, "You two know each other?"

Kuronue seemed to be released from whatever was holding him. "Kurama? Everyone says you died!"

"I _saw_ you die!" I yelled at him, _could this really be him?_

"Well, that's sort of a funny story, and sort of why we are here. You saw me bleeding to death. That is true...but then our mutual friend showed up and offered me a choice."

"She turned you?"

"Yeah. She saved my life..."

"Why didn't you find me?" _How could he let me think he was dead for all this time?_

"I had a body worth more than gold and everyone around you knew my name."

"Your name?"

"Yeah, I don't know if you noticed, but using a skin-walkers real name will paralyze them for about six seconds, and it sort of hurts...I knew I could trust you, but you had a lot of enemies. I would have only been endangering everyone's lives. Mine, yours, and Luna's."

I put my head in my hands, "It's really you?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question, considering you are talking to me from a human suit?"

"I almost died so I implanted my soul into a human child to recover."

"Yeah. Luna mentioned that...but we don't really use names so I never made the connection that it could be you."

"Does she know about us?"

Kuronue laughed and it had been so long since I heard it, it brought a smile to my face despite the unorthodox circumstances, "Don't say it like that! You make it sound like we are secret lovers having an affair behind her back." He paused, looking at Hiro, who seemed to be confused. Kuronue smiled. "Hiro, you remember me telling you and Luna about my old best friend?" Hiro nodded, and I felt warmth in my chest at the realization that he considered me his best friend as well. "And then I heard he died, so Luna and I spent thirteen years murdering everyone responsible for his death?" I felt my mouth drop. _He did that? They did that?_ "Well turns out he isn't dead, and he is sitting across from us, in a red-haired human suit, and that is fifteen years of my life I will never get back...And now I learn that my old best friend, and my new best friend, are sort of involved, and I don't know how to handle this situation."

Hiro scratches his head, "That sounds like quite the predicament Kuro, but aren't we supposed to be answering his questions about Luna, so he can stop feeling like she betrayed him?"

"Oh fucking hell, you are right." Kuronue turns back to me, "Anything you need to ask, ask away, I know more about that woman and your relationship with her than I am comfortable knowing, now that I know that it is you."

"I don't even know where to start..." I confess.

"Let's start with the basics...She thought you were a human. She liked talking to you, and she liked flirting with you, we all know that you liked it too considering the energy bridging..." I started to interrupt, but he gave me a pointed look under the brim of his hat that I knew all too well. "Then she found out you were a demon, and you were honest with her, and she felt super awful she couldn't be honest with you too, but she enjoyed whatever the fuck you two were doing with each other, and wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. I encouraged it. I had never felt her that happy, and frankly it was a pleasant change of pace from the self-hatred and self-pity that usually floats around her mind... everything she felt, and everything you felt was very much real. She was always her real self with you. She was scared to tell you the truth because she thought you only cared for her because she thought she was human. She has some past trauma with that."

"What were lies, then?"

"Mostly just the stuff that would show you what she really was."

"Such as?" I prodded.

"Most obvious first. The zapping feeling when you touch her? That's sort of skin-walker thing. We think it is a mating mechanism, we really don't know. There isn't a handbook on this shit."

"What is it?"

"When you touch, your energies flow through each other involuntarily. However, up to this point, she has been shielding her own energy from you. 90% of the energy you feel is just the flow of your own. The reason she has never let you touch her too long is because as that energy flows through her, she absorbs more of it, and because she isn't letting her own flow through you, it builds up, and it is too much energy to be contained in a human form. She'll shift."

 _That makes sense. It was never about hurting each other, it was about revealing her secret._ "She has insinuated that if we were to kiss something bad would happen."

Kuronue laughs, "Well that part is a little more complicated. To kiss a skin-walker is to share the soul...probably because it is part of the ritual to make a skin-walker. When you kiss, she will be able to see your soul, and you'll see hers. Her memories, her feelings, everything."

"I see..."

"Kurama...you were always my best friend. But she is too... How do you feel about her... really?"

"I...I don't know."

"I am in a weird place. I don't know whether to warn her, that you are cold and reserved, and historically the only person you have ever given a shit about is yourself. Or to warn you that she is stubborn, impulsive and untrusting, and will probably never really get over the murder of her human boyfriend." I glance over the table to meet his eyes. "For six hundred years, she has felt nothing but mourning for him. Until she met you...and from what she has told me, you are no longer quite so unfeeling."

"I don't know what to do Kuronue." I see him tense, "Sorry." He blinks slowly.

Hiro leans forward and i look to him, "Well, what has learning she is really a demon really changed? She is still the person you know, she just has a much more...checkered past than you previously thought."

Kuronue laughs and shrugs, "That is an understatement...But he is right. She lied to you. So what? Could you have done anything better if you were in her place?"

I stare at him, and I know he is right, so I shrug.

"And your feelings for her, did you really only have them because you thought she was human?"

"No. I don't think I ever really believed she was just a human."

Hiro stands up, "Then what the hell is the problem here?" He moves a kettle of water to the stove, muttering "fucking demons..."

I turn back to Kuronue who is giving me that half smirk I missed, "He has a point you know. You and Luna are both fucking stupid." I laugh, "Oh and I need to say this because I feel like it will get awkward later... To turn us, Luna had to kiss us, so Hiro and I have both kissed your girlfriend and you haven't."

I glare at him.

"Also, Luna and I may have done more than that for the purposes of distraction." I narrow my eyes at him, unsure of what he is insinuating here. "I was a girl at the time. So was she. We were getting information. She feels more to me like a sister than anything, so I assure you, feeling her up was mildly repulsive."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, before looking at him again, only to find him laughing to himself hysterically. "...what?" I use my dangerous voice, but he knows me too well to buy it.

"Your fox form is like two feet tall."

I raise a brow, "Your point?"

"Have you seen her wolf form? It would be like seeing a chihuahua trying to fuck a german shepherd."

I put my hand over my mouth to stop the laugh, shaking my head, "Only you would think of that, Kuro."

"You missed me. Admit it." He gives me his award winning smile,

"I did."

* * *

 **Luna**

I step towards the tower hearing the signature rumbling of Raizen's stomach. The familiar trio of monks appears in front of me, "Hello again Luna, always a pleasure."

"Is he busy?"

"No. He-"

"Good. I need to talk to that asshole." I push past Hokushin and towards the home of my oldest friend. I step into his quarters, and he looks at me from his throne.

"If you are here to see me you must have really fucked up." He gives me that devilish half smirk.

"Oh, you know, same as usual, doing stupid shit for someone who will never love me back."

"It's what we do best. Hopefully it wasn't as stupid as starving yourself for seven hundred years."

"No. You still win, but why is it a contest?"

"Because we are both competitive. Always have been."

"Anyone else been by recently?"

"No, you are the only one who ever understood my decision. None of the others ever speak to me."

"Well in their defense, it is sort of stupid."

"But you still _got it._ "

"Yeah. I do. I don't think is possible to understand what loving a human is like until you have done it."

"There is nothing like it."

"Loving a demon soul in a human body."

"Oh...is that what made you hurt enough to come here?"

"Yeah. Couldn't admit I loved him until he looked at me with hate in his eyes."

"Story of our lives."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So what did you do to ruin it this time?"

"I built our whole relationship on the pretense of trust and honesty while I was lying to him about being a human."

"And he felt betrayed?"

"Yeah. He could barely look at me."

"Well that is a good sign."

I stepped forward sitting on the ground in front of his throne. "How the fuck is that a good sign? Have you entered delirium?"

"You can only feel betrayed by someone you care about. It means he at least cared about you. That's one step further than you got last time."

"Oh don't you start with that shit too, Raizen!"

"Luna, everyone knows he didn't love you except for you. He may have been attracted to you, and had a fondness for you, but he never accepted what you were. If he cared, he would have."

"Whatever."

"Stop being such a stubborn bitch!" I stood up, and threw a punch at him, and he caught my wrist, digging his claws into my skin. I reach forward with my left hand and wrap my fingers around his neck, barely digging into his skin with my claws. "You actually have a chance this time. Don't waste it." When he spoke, my claws dug deeper into his throat.

"Do you think we will ever have a conversation without drawing blood?"

"No. It's sort of a tradition now. I know how much you love tradition."

"Oh, and Yomi tried to have me killed again. Thought you'd want to know."

"Obviously he was unsuccessful."

"I'm hard to kill."

"I know. I have tried, remember?" He smiled and I let go of his throat, and he released my wrist. He went deep, I could see my own tendons.

"I am going to go see if I can salvage anything from this failed attempt at romance...take care of yourself Raizen, don't get assassinated."

"Good luck, Luna. Don't kill the poor guy." I laughed as I headed from the tower, ripping a hole in space that led back to my room.

I shifted back to Tsuki, I wasn't sure if Kurama was still here, but I didn't want to push things by letting him see me as Luna now that he knew the truth.

I walked down the stairs and heard... _laughing?_ I look around the corner and see Kurama, Hiro _and_ Kuro sitting around the kitchen table laughing.

"What the hell did I miss?" I spoke, and the three of them turned to look at me. Kurama didn't look at me like he hated me. That was an improvement.

Kuro smiled at me and then began to speak, "Oh, I know I never mentioned this, but my best friend was Yoko Kurama." My mouth dropped.

"You are fucking with me right?"

Kurama smiled, "No, it was quite the surprise for the both of us too."

I sighed, looking to Kuro, "I tracked down twelve SDF members so you could avenge your friend that wasn't even dead?"

"Appears so. My bad." Kuro jokes. I put my face in my hands. "You aren't going to address the fact that you have spent the past seven months telling me about eyefucking who I now know to be my best friend."

I didn't look up. I knew better. "Oh my fucking God."

I heard Kurama laugh, and I had to look up, he was giving me a sly smile, and Kuro and Hiro were looking at each other. Hiro speaks, "Kuro, would you mind escorting me to my garden in demon world? I am almost out of tea."

"I would love to, good friend!" Kuro exclaimed, grabbing Hiro's hands and opening a portal right there in the kitchen,

"Don't you two fucking dare!" I tried to reach them, but they were gone before I even got to the kitchen table. I swallowed hard and then turned to see Kurama watching me with a predatory gaze.

"I think we have some things to discuss." He calmly stood from his chair and stalked over to me. "But I want to talk to _you." He meant Luna. He wanted me to shift._ So I did. I was slightly taller in demon form, and my ears made me seem taller than that. The tips of my ears were about even with the top of Kurama's head.

"You may be able to change how your eyes appear, but you can't change the way they look at me." He spoke softly, making eye contact, and his gaze was so warm. "I meant it when I said I was in this for your _mind._ For the way you looked at me."

He reached forward, grabbing both of my hands in his own, and then in a second he had me pushed against the wall, and was holding them on either side of my head. He never broke eye contact. I felt the familiar tingle, the tingle I was scared I would never feel again.

"Drop it."

He spoke clearly, but I didn't understand. "Drop what?"

"Your barrier. You don't need it." I opened my mouth slightly, looking deep into his eyes. He was serious. His gaze was unwavering. I obliged, and I dropped my focus on maintaining the barrier and the full force of our connection traveled through our joined hands. I heard and saw him gasp, and then he let go, stepping slightly away from me. _It was too much...He didn't like it._

Then he reached up into his hair, removing the rose and several seeds and laying them on the table. "Kurama, what are you-" I didn't even finish my question, his left hand was on my lower back, pulling my body to his, and his right was tangled in my hair, pulling my lips to his and cushioning me from the blow as I hit the wall.

I barely even saw his memories because I was too wrapped up in the feeling. His soft lips were moving with mine, and it wasn't even a tingle anymore it was like a full body aura, like I could feel _all of him_ with _all of me._ It was the greatest thing I had ever felt. I snaked my claws through his hair and pulled him to me with more force, I tried not to scratch him, but I know I did. His hand in my hair moved upwards and he pinched the pleasure point on the base of my ear, and his other hand squeezed the base of my tail, it felt _so good._ I full-on moaned into his mouth. I felt his lips turn into a smile, and then he moved away. In an instant the contact was gone. The aura was gone, but my whole body still felt like it was vibrating with the after effects.

I stared at him, not fully able to process what was going on, he smiled and licked his lips while looking at me with those bedroom eyes. "So, are you still mad at me, or...?"

He laughed, reaching out and grabbing my left hand in his right. "Yes. But I want to move past it...we have both lied to each other, but I know that everything that makes me care for you the way I do was _you,_ not your act. You saw through every mask I put and accepted me for who I was now. I intend to keep your secret from the group. They are still very far from the truth, and revealing it to them, especially now, would only cause more trouble. However, there are no more secrets between you and I."

I smiled at him, rubbing his hand with my thumb, trying not to scratch him in the process. "What did you see?"

"I caught a glimpse of you saving Kuronue, but I was focusing on other things...I need to point out that that was the most amazing thing I have felt in my life..."

I laugh, "Then why did you stop?"

"Several reasons. The most important being that I didn't want our first time making love to be on Hiro's kitchen table."

"Making love?" I quirked a brow at the cheesy term.

"Trust me, just sex feels nothing like that. There is no way to explain the difference."

"We go slow then?"

"Yes...besides, I may be a demon, but I am still in the body of a fifteen year old human. If wolves are anything like foxes, and you got carried away, I am not sure I would survive the encounter."

I clap my hand over my mouth, but the laugh makes its way through, "Yoko Kurama the famous sex God is scared of a virgin?"

He smirked, presumably at my admission of my inexperience, "If I were Yoko Kurama it would not be an issue, the problem is the body of Shuichi Minamino...so be careful with me. I am well aware that you are far more powerful demon than I am or was."

"You trust me not to accidentally kill you?"

"Yes."

"How romantic!" I smiled at him, but he suddenly looked serious,

"Let's go to the couch, there are important matters to discuss." He begins to walk to the main room, the television is still on from earlier.

"You are breaking up with me already? It's been like two and a half minutes."

I see an inkling of a smile as he sits down on the couch. "Yusuke and Kuwabara are the special guests of this years Dark Tournament. Hiei and I are required to be on his team as well."

"Oh shit." I sit beside him, wrapping my tail around me so I don't sit on it. "Aren't they teams of five?"

"Yes, we will have to find a fifth."

"It can't be me. You know that."

"I know. Linking us to you would put everyone in even more danger than they already are."

"I will still be there though. I will make sure nothing bad happens to any of you."

"We need to train Kuwabara or he won't survive. I imagine Yusuke will return to Genkai."

"Hiro and I can help with Kuwabara as we did before...We are keeping this from Keiko and Shizuru aren't we?"

"I think that is best."

"When are you going to start training?"

"I will worry about that tomorrow." He leans back on the couch and opens his arms in an invitation, and I nestle myself against him. I can feel his hair tickling my ears.

"What about us?"

"What do you mean? Tsuki and I are still a couple. Around others, you will remain Tsuki, but when it is just you and I, I would like you to be you."

"Tsuki is me..."

"You know what I mean...oh, and when you aren't trying to hide your energy from me, how much can I touch you before you shift?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Well now that I know kissing you won't kill me, I would like to do it more often."

"You charmer." I laugh and he squeezes me.

"Are you open to experimentation with the limits of your shapeshifting?"

"Are you asking me to take a human form and make out with you until I grow a tail?"

"Basically."

"How could a girl say no?" I changed back to my human form, and Kurama was looking at me curiously. "What?"

"After seeing the real you it is hard to go back." I smiled, but leaned in and pressed my lips to his. It still felt as amazing as before, but it was missing that desperate urgency that we had before. We continued to kiss, and after a few moments, I was on my back on the couch and he was on top of me. Kissing me and touching me, but not letting his hands stray too far or letting the heat consume us.

We didn't hear the door open until the intruder had made it to the entryway of the main room, "Tsuki, I need to talk to you, I-" She stopped speaking when she reached the entryway and saw her best friend in a compromising position with a demon she claimed to only be friends with. Ah complications. Kurama smiled against my lips and pulled away, putting distance between us and I looked at Keiko, "I am _so_ sorry! I am interrupting, I will come back later...or tomorrow or..."

"Keiko." I stopped her babbling, laughing lightly. "It's fine. What is wrong?"

Kurama stood up, "I will leave you two to your gossip. I will be in the kitchen making tea."

Keiko moved towards the couch, replacing Kurama in the now vacated seat."Yusuke skipped out on the second date in a row, and now he says he is going back to his mentor to train some more. I am worried."

"He will be fine. He should get stronger. The tougher he is the more people he can protect, and the more likely he is to succeed on his cases. I don't know what to tell you about the date though. Maybe drag him to something he doesn't abhor?"

"You think he will be okay?"

"He will be fine Keiko. Don't worry..." I hugged her, I knew she probably should worry, but her worrying wouldn't help anything, so what is the point?

"Can we talk about what I just saw?" She turned to look at me with a blush.

"It depends on what you want to say." I smirk.

"So you two are...a thing?"

"We have been a thing...I just hate using the term 'boyfriend' unironically."

"I feel like I should be more concerned about the fact I just caught my best friend making out with a demon on the couch, but I am more surprised to see you kissing _anyone_ than I am that he is a demon."

"That says something about me, doesn't it?" I laugh. I hug her again. "Yusuke will be fine. Worrying won't help anything. And next time you want to see a movie with him, maybe go see the new Bruce Lee film rather than some artsy hippy shit."

"Alright. I will call you later, okay?"

"Alright. Be safe on the way home." She stood from the couch and headed towards the door,

"Bye Kurama!" She called into the house.

"Be safe, Keiko!" I heard him call back, and then I heard the door close, and he was standing in the doorway with a cup of tea. "Did you want some?"

"No. I hate your herbal teas."

"I thought so, I only made enough for one cup."

"What would you have done if I had said yes?"

"Distracted you somehow, I suppose." He returned to the couch, sitting his empty cup on the small table. "We never found your limit."

"We did not."

"Should we remedy that? I still have an hour before mother expects me home."

"That sounds wonderful Kurama." I barely finish my sentence before his lips are on mine again, and I have to admit, the tea tastes much better when it is just a small taste lingering on the lips of a beautiful man who cares about me.


	15. Romance of the Unusual

~~NOTES~~~

Guys! Look! I did the thing! I finished up chapter 15 so I can get it out to you guys! And then I have up til chapter 21 before the next instance of writers block. Sorry if it sounds different, I have been writing on a Winter Soldier fic which is written in third person, and it's really weird to flip flop. Hope you like it!

* * *

*" _Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual."- Ernest Hemingway*_

 **Kuwabara**

I was dead tired, and my whole body hurt but I knew I had to do this if I was gonna survive what was comin'. Fighting with Hiei and Kurama for the past few weeks was helping, but I knew I wasn't as strong as them. I didn't know if I ever would be. The three of us were taking a breather when I noticed Kurama kept looking down at his watch.

"What, you got a hot date you are late for?" I asked and he gave me that lip twitch that I learned was amusement for him,

"I invited someone to mix up the training a bit. They should be here soon."

Hiei looked to Kurama, "Who could you possibly have invited that could help more than us?" He had the same angry, cocky tone that he always used.

"Hello boys, sorry I am late." The three of us turned to see Tsuki standing at the edge of the clearing. She was wearing what I knew from my training with her to be her kick-ass clothes. A tight tank top, leggings, and light athletic shoes. I noticed she had two swords on her back, the wooden one she used with me, but also a real one.

"You invited your human girlfriend Kurama? What will this accomplish?" Hiei with that tone again. Kurama just ignored him, and I turned to Tsuki,

"Why the real sword Tsuki? You said I wasn't ready for that."

"It's not for you." She laid the fake sword on the ground and removed her katana from its sheath, pointing the blade at Hiei, "It's for him." Hiei just scoffed at her, but she gave that evil smirk I have only seen on her a couple of times.

"What is about to happen will not leave these woods. If you ever speak of it, I will deny it." Tsuki spoke calmly, and I knew she was really serious. "Honestly, between the three of you at this moment, the one who stands the highest chance of actually hitting me is Kuwabara."

Hiei stood up, "Is that right?"

She stepped towards Hiei, she was slightly taller than him, her Katana was securely in her hand. "Try and prove me wrong." She cocked her head in a threat.

Hiei laughed, "You don't stand a chance. Your energy is infinitesimal compared to even Kuwabara's." Tsuki smiled.

"Then come at me." She taunted, and he ran at her. They both moved so fast I could barely keep track of the slashing of their swords. The sounds and flashes of light were more help than anything. And then suddenly Hiei was laying on the ground, Tsuki had a foot on his chest, and the tip of her sword at his throat.

"Holy shit, Tsuki!" I cheered, but she ignored me. Maintaining the intense eye contact with Hiei.

"What was your mistake, Hiei?" She said it so coolly I wasn't even sure if it was her voice.

"I didn't anticipate your step to the left." He spoke, but she pushed the sword tighter to his throat and I saw a drop of blood. I had never seen her like this.

"Your mistake came long before that. Your weakness is your temper. I intentionally provoked you so that you would attack out of anger. You are exponentially more easy to predict when you act out of rage...Also... _Never_ underestimate an opponent. Assume your enemy is more capable than you are, and you will either determine that you were right, or you will be pleasantly surprised. Go in thinking that they are inferior and you _will_ make a mistake." She stepped off of him and returned her word to its resting place at her side. I'll admit I was a little scared. _Tsuki just beat Hiei...at his own game..._ I heard Kurama chuckle beside me. Tsuki glared at him,

"What is so funny, Kurama? You are next. You really think that just because we are in a relationship I won't kick your ass? You are wrong."

I saw Hiei standing next to me. I didn't even realize he moved. Kurama stepped out into the clearing, and it looked like the two of them were slowly circling each other. "You think I will be as easy of a win as Hiei? You know that I am fully aware of what you are capable of. I won't make the same mistakes."

"Oh, I am aware, Kurama. You will make your own." And then Kurama's whip was out, and there was another flurry of slashing and flashes of whip against sword.

Hiei spoke beside me. "This should be interesting. They have very similar fighting tactics."

I watched the clashes, there seemed to be no change in the pattern. "They aren't trying to actually hit each other."

"You are correct. They are both reading the other's moves and waiting for them to make a mistake. The first to strike will likely lose."

I looked at their faces and the way they were looking at each other, "Why do I feel like I am watching something dirty?"

"Fighting is like foreplay for a demon. In a way, we kind of are." Hiei spoke, and I felt really uncomfortable, both from the way he said that so matter-of-factly, and finding myself wonder how Kurama and Tsuki's relationship actually worked,

A moment later, Tsuki moved in to strike, and Kurama acted swiftly to wrap his whip around her sword, just as he was about to rip it from her hand she used her left hand to grab the end of her own sword, slicing her hand deeply, and taking Kurama's plan to rip the whip from his hand. She landed with her knee on his chest, the base of her sword at his throat, and her face inches from his, It almost looked like they were about to kiss, and that made me feel even dirtier. "You know your mistake don't you?" She spoke, only slightly out of breath.

"Yes." She smiled at him with such love, while still holding a sword to his throat. It was the weirdest thing I think I have ever seen...and I have seen a lot.

"Let's see if they can figure it out...Hiei. Kuwabara, what was his mistake?"

I answered first, I figured it was mainly for me anyway, "I don't know. He tried to disarm you, but he didn't see you using your other hand like that I guess?"

"Wrong. Hiei?"

I turned to look at Hiei. "His compassion. If he really wanted to win he wouldn't have hesitated in pulling her sword as he originally intended to. Forcing her to cut her own hand in half."

"Exactly...Kurama, your compassion is one of the things I love most about you. But don't let it get you killed. None of those demons at that tournament will hesitate to exploit your kindness. I also have no doubt that they would be willing to sacrifice their hand to win as well."

She stood up, I saw the blood dripping from her hand. Kurama stood beside her, "Out of curiosity, what was your plan if I hadn't hesitated? I know you had one. You wouldn't have let me cut off your hand."

She smiled at him, "I would have used my energy to create a small barrier around the sword and used the pull of your whip to force the sword up. Perhaps using your confusion to take you by surprise."

Hiei stepped towards the two of them and I followed. I had no idea how to feel about this.

"I underestimated you." Hiei spoke to Tsuki,

"I know. That was the point. To show you your weakness so that you can learn from it. That's why Kurama asked me here."

I spoke, "You weren't here to help train me?"

"No. I still intend to observe, but Hiei and Kurama are just as equipped to train you as I am."

"Kurama knew I would never be so careless to underestimate him, but he knew I underestimated you." Hiei spoke again.

"Yes. Also you favor your right side. It's barely noticeable, but a skilled fighter could find a way to use it against you."

Hiei made a humpf sound. I laughed, "You are just mad that you got your ass kicked by a little human girl."

He glared at me, "If you truly think she is just a normal human girl, you are a bigger fool than I thought."

I looked to Tsuki who smiled at me as she always has. Kurama has his arm around her. _She seems like a human, is there really more to her than that?_ She stepped to me and elbowed me in my exceptionally sore ribs. "Go let Hiei beat the hell outta you." I smiled to her, and I realized that it didn't really matter. She was my friend, whatever the hell she was.

* * *

 **Kurama**

Just as I expected, when I retired to my room for the night after dinner I found Hiei waiting for me on my bed. After I closed the door he spoke, "She isn't human, is she Kurama?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Hiei."

"Don't play dumb with me, fox." I could tell this was bothering him, he hated being out of the loop.

"You aren't going to start watching her are you? She knows a lot of your secrets Hiei, you might not want to upset her."

"I know that if she were just a normal human, she would have been chosen to be our fifth fighter a long time ago. The fact that she isn't means that we are hiding what she can do. The only reason for that would be that she is a demon who isn't supposed to be here."

"Oh? Is that so?" He was fun to toy with.

"Wait..." _Is he putting it together? I was about to think Keiko was going to figure it out before he did._ "Yusuke was given the mission to save Yukina not long after Tsuki found out about her. Was she the one who located Yukina?"

"How would she have done that, Hiei?" _He was almost there._

I saw his eyes widen, he was there, "She is the wolf demon." He sounded almost shocked.

"I was beginning to think Keiko would figure it out before you did...I am sure you see why this is a secret."

"That is why you began your relationship with her."

"No. I began the relationship thinking she was just a special human. I figured out the truth much later. After we rescued Yukina, actually. We fought about the fact she had lied to me for so long, it was very dramatic."

"You picked a fight with a skin-walker? You are insane, have you heard the stories?"

"I had yes... Now I have seen her memories, so I am fully aware of how dangerous she is. Honestly, knowing she could kill me so easily makes me love her all the more."

"You _are_ insane."

"You'll understand one day, Hiei."

"I doubt it."

"You'll keep the secret, right? She did save your sister after all."

"I'll think about it." He disappeared out the window, But I knew he would.

* * *

 **Luna**

 _Right on schedule,_ "Hello, Hiei." I spoke to the figure that had just jumped through my window.

"You knew I would come?"

"Yes. I figured you suspected from the woods, and that you would go to Kurama for confirmation, and then you would come to me to see it for yourself."

"You could do anything with your power. Why are you pretending to be a human and protecting a group of people who wouldn't even accept what you are?"

"I have lived a long life Hiei, but I wasted most of it on my revenge. Showing the demons that killed my pack what a monster _really_ was. It didn't make me feel better. It never made me happy. People make me happy. My friends. I will do whatever I have to do to protect my pack."

"Even if it gets you killed?"

"Yes."

He pauses, narrowing his eyes at me, "How powerful are you, really?"

"I don't know. I haven't actually tried to fight anyone in a very long time. I got very good at mind manipulation in the last couple of centuries. Why kill an enemy when you can convince them to kill themselves?"

He laughed. "I suppose you are right." he paused. "Are wolves and foxes even compatible?"

Now I was laughing, "Doubtful. But that is hardly the point of our relationship."

"You aren't trying to make more of your kind?"

"I can make all the skin-walkers I want."

"Then why don't you?"

"I have survived this long by keeping myself a secret. If I give someone my power and they go showing it to everyone, it will get me and everyone I care about killed. I only share my power with people I trust."

"I see...Then what _is_ the point of your relationship with the fox?"

"I enjoy his company. He seems to enjoy mine. It's about comfort and companionship... having someone that understands."

"Huh..." and then he disappeared out the window as quickly as he came in. He had never known love in any form. He would understand someday. Hopefully.

* * *

I laid in bed, trying not to think of all the ways my friends could get killed in the dark tournament, and then I felt Kuro in my head.

"I don't know what I am doing with my life." He sounded so melancholy, it was so unlike him.

"Why is that?"

"I started this infiltration job to I could avenge Kurama. Kurama isn't dead. What is the point? I mean, I could keep trying to help with your crime syndicate, but you always said you'd find another way...And I don't really want to do it."

"So quit."

"Then what am I going to do?"

"Whatever you want."

"But I don't want anything."

"Nothing?"

"No."

"You could become a vigilante."

"Is that a batman joke?"

"Only in part. I am serious. There are tons of people who need help."

"I commit crimes, not stop them."

"And that obviously isn't making you happy anymore. So switch it up. You might like how it feels to help people."

"Yeah...alright. I will try that. See how it goes...You and Kurama fucked yet?"

"No. We are going slow because he is in a human body and I could very easily hurt him...and we are doing this relationship thing right. Like, real dating and getting to know each other before we introduce our genitals."

"You think that will make it better?"

"I know it will."

"Hmmm. Maybe I should look for a girl who I could actually spend more than a night with."

I laugh, "Maybe you should."

* * *

 **Luna**

I stand outside Kurama's home in the early morning. He had called me, told me to get dressed and meet him because he had plans for today. I know he is the king of thieves and all that, but I am not used to him being so cryptic with _me._ After a few moments of me pacing on the pavement, he exits the simple, but elegant home I have had family dinner in on numerous occasions. He gives me a light smile and walks towards me, I speak, "Why are we up so early? And why are you being so mysterious?"

He comes to stand inches from me, smiling down at me, "How about a little quid pro quo?"

I narrow my eyes, "I don't think that applies in a relationship. We are just supposed to do things for each other without expecting something in return."

He shrugs, "Old habits die hard. Well, I need to locate several stashes of seeds I hid centuries ago. I initially assumed it would take the whole day to find them, but then I realized, I have you, and if you help me, we can accomplish the task much earlier and have the rest of the day for you and I to have a real date."

I sigh, "How many stashes? And why do you need them?"

He glances away in thought, then back to me, "Six, I believe. And I need them for the Dark Tournament. I need to have access to my demon world plants and rare earth plants, as well as my usual tricks...I need to be prepared for anything."

I slid my hand into his and we begin to walk down the sidewalk, "These stashes aren't going to be easy to find are they?"

"No." He replies without hesitation, "At the time, the city was just a few small buildings, and now most of the landmarks are gone...It can be done, but it won't be easy."

I stop and turn to him, he smiles at me curiously, "Counter-proposal?" He nods, though looking even more curious, "You make me a list of what you need, and I will get it for you without having to get our hands dirty."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I am not a fan of doing work I don't have to do...So I have people who do it for me."

"Alright," He replies, still looking at me suspiciously. I am glad he knows better than to ask questions. He takes a notepad out of his jacket pocket and scribbles things down. I watch him as his eyes dart between the paper and empty space, deep in thought. After several minutes, he rips the note from the pad and hands it to me, "Everything I might need, sorted by world of origin." I glance over the sheet, around ten demon world plants, three from spirit world, two from living world. Not bad. Some of them I had never heard of. I hope Teri has been doing his job.

He watches me calmly as I read, and then I look back up at him, "Ready to go to the store?" I extend my hand, and he grabs it without hesitation.

"Where exactly is the store?" He asks, as I cut a hole through space.

"London." I reply and step through the portal, Kurama still clutching my hand and coming through beside me.

* * *

 **Kurama**

I held her hand as we floated through a small section of pseudospace, and I felt far more comfortable this time. After a moment we stepped out into a cold, damp alleyway, and it was dark outside, but everything was illuminated by street lights and I could hear the hustle and bustle of people on the main streets nearby. She turns to me and winks, with a smile on her face. She starts to walk down the alley confidently, and I follow, our hands still entwined. She must have done this many times. I wanted to know where we were heading. How she knew all of this, but I knew better than to ask. Demons don't talk about their sources, their connections...Secrets keep you alive.

After we round the corner we stop in front of a dilapidated wooden door. Inconspicuous. It simply looked like an abandoned building. She wrapped on the wood a few times and a little door slid open at eye level, and someone was looking at us. The man on the other side spoke, "Name and company you represent?"

I looked at Luna and she smirked before replying, "Jura, it's Luna. Open the damn door."

I looked back to the man just in time to see his eyes widen, before he fumbles to close the peep hole, and open what sounds like at least fifteen locks.

The door opens, and the man holds it open for us, speaking frantically, "Luna. So Sorry. Didn't even know you weren't in demon world. Didn't know you had friends here." The man, no, he smells like a demon, looks at me, "Who is your friend?"

She stops walking and glares at him, "Jura, what gives you the impression you are allowed to ask me questions?" She speaks so calmly, but the edge in her voice was malicious. I knew she was dangerous, but I haven't seen evidence of it before.

The demon looked scared, and his eyes seemed to change color to reflect that, "Sorry. So sorry. It won't happen again. I'll get back to the door. Enjoy your visit." He glances between us, mainly at Luna, before bowing politely and scurrying back to the door. Luna smiles at me and we walk down the small hallway before it opens into a large room, almost looking like a human pawn shop, with a glass display table and a tall man standing behind it. Except, the items in the display case and on the walls were not normal human treasures, no, these were supernatural artifacts. Rare. Expensive. Some of them could even be called priceless. This was _beautiful._ A thief's dream. I was pulled from my thoughts as the tall man spoke,

"Luna...What a pleasant surprise. How may I help you?" His voice was very singsong, and pleasant, but the way he drug out the 'S's' led me to believe he was reptilian in origin.

Luna walks up to the glass desk and I follow, she lays the piece of paper down on the glass and slides it to him, "I brought a list."

His eyes glide over the paper, "I think we have the seeds for most of these if not all, I'll be right back." The demon turns and heads through the door behind the desk. I see his tail peeking out from beneath the coattail of his suit. Luna turns, leaning back against the glass, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Is the thief in you salivating?" She asks with a sly smile.

"You have no idea," I reply, still taking in all the gold and silver surrounding us, all of the supernatural artifacts I had never even heard of, but could feel their power. I had broken into Spirit World's vault, and yet it had nothing on this place. A little hole in the wall in a London Alleyway, hiding in plain sight. Incredible.

"Just don't get any ideas. I brought you in under my name. That means I trust you."

I move to stand in front of her, "I know. Thank you. I had no idea anything like this even existed. You are amazing." I lean in, sliding my fingers through her hair and bringing her lips to mine. Her little whimper shoots straight to the pit of my stomach and I pull away before I do something hasty. I didn't even notice the demon had returned.

"Sorry to interrupt." He speaks, and Luna turns back around, dragging her thumb across her lips, "We had a few of everything, though not the usual base amount of five in a few of the plants, I marked them on your list." He hands the list back to Luna who passes it to me, "To make up for it, I included some other options that are often requested in similar orders."

I glance over the list, the seeds he had fewer of were the ones I only put down as a precaution. I never thought we would actually find them. I looked to the plants he added, and I was incredibly shocked, "These are medicinal herbs. They were supposed to have gone extinct. I haven't been able to find them in centuries." I look to the demon who smiles proudly,

"In the wild, yes. But our supplier takes his job very seriously. Many things thought to be gone forever can be found if you only know where to look." He smiles at me, and I know it was meant to be polite, but it was a little unnerving.

Luna picks the bag up from the desk, "Thanks, Merd. You are great."

The demon looks back to her and smiles, "Anything for a valued client. Even more for you."

"You flatterer." She winks at him. And I think I see him blush. She turns back to me and extends her hand, "You ready to go, or is there anything else you need?"

"I am ready." I answer, and we begin to walk. The demon from before, Jura, holds the door open for us as we exit. He still seems frightened. As we enter the alley and the door closes behind us I turn to her, "I may not know _much_ but I am fairly certain you normally have to _pay_ for goods and services."

She grins, "I have a tab." She raises her other hand and slices a hole in space and I follow her through, holding her hand tightly so I don't lose her. When we exit, we are in my bedroom. "I figured you didn't want to walk around all day with a baggie of demon plant seeds." She hands the bag to me, and I finally look inside, and sure enough, all the seeds I asked for. Each type in its own plastic bag. They were all excellent quality.

"I don't even know how to thank you."

"Don't bother. If it helps you survive the Dark Tournament, I am happy to do it." She states. Sitting on the edge of my bed. I put the bag of seeds in the hidden compartment in my closet, and when I turn back around I see that she has laid back on the bed.

"Tired?" I ask, sitting beside her, leaning back on the bed so we are lying side by side.

"Yeah. Portals aren't easy...And I have never taken someone else through one in a human form before. It took more energy than I thought it would."

I roll to my side, propping my head up with my elbow, so that I can look down at her. Her eyes are closed. I gently brush her hair out of her face and behind her ear. She leans into my hand. I can see her eyelashes flutter, but they remain closed. I slowly drag my pointer down her neck, dipping into the hollow of her throat and then just under the top of her shirt to follow the ridge of her clavicle, and she lets out a silent moan and her bottom lip quivers as her mouth remains open. "Kurama..." She breaths and the sound of my name on her lips has an even more intense effect on me than her soft moans. "What are you doing?"

I smirk at her still closed eyes, "I am simply touching you to restore your energy." I move my hand to the bottom hem of her shirt, tracing the thin strip of skin exposed where she laid back, before dipping my fingers just under her shirt. I hear her breath hitch and I feel my smile widen. She is so responsive to every touch, and every little sound she makes affects me much more than I believe it should.

She makes a contented "mmm" as I drag my hand across her abdomen, tracing my thumb across her lowest ribs. "Liar." She murmurs. I feel her shiver under my touch. "Your mother is in the room across the hall..." She whispers.

"I know." I slip my fingers just under the rim of her bra, and she gasps, "Why do you think your clothes are still on?"

She smiles, "I thought it was because we were being patient."

"That was _before_ you took me to a blackmarket demon pawn shop and bought me all the deadly plants my heart desires...I never thought you would find them all."

Then, suddenly, her eyes were open and she was up on her elbow, facing me, "Did you put rare plants you didn't even need on that list just to see what I would do?"

"Perhaps." I give her a sly grin. She scowls at me, "Don't worry, I am sure I can find _some_ use for them."

"You are evil."

"You like it."

She cocks a brow, "Is this the date I was promised?"

"Of course not...I reserved tickets for the new play downtown and planned for dinner afterwards, though since we finished our task well in advance of when I _thought_ we would finish, we may want to have dinner first."

"You don't have to do this, you know. You need to be preparing for the tournament. You need to be making the others prepare for the tournament. You are the only rational thinker on the whole damn team. I can't be distracting you."

"Luna...I wouldn't even have this day free if it wasn't for you, and besides...I want to take you out on a proper date."

"We have dates all the time."

"Cuddling on the couch and reading hardly counts as real dates. Discussing training and fighting tactics for Kuwabara hardly counts as dates. Don't get me wrong, I love doing those things with you, but I would like to be a real human couple as well."

She reaches forward and runs her hand through my hair, "Alright. But tomorrow, we go back to death plants and sword fights, okay?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

~~NOTES~~~

Hope you liked it! I am glad I was able to get it finished for you. You should probably thank the gust who reviewed yesterday. I was just laying on the couch, feeling sorry for myself and staring blankly at my winter soldier fic, when the review came in, and it was what I needed to write and get this chapter out there. So thank you guest reviewer! And thanks to all my reviewers! Everytime I get an email I get all excited, and its probably what keeps me writing at all, (even if I am not currently writing on this work, the fact that you all like it must mean that my other works aren't the steaming piles of shit I believe them to be.)

I am rambling. I apologize, I guess, I will pop out chapter 16 on Sunday or Monday like before. Sorry about this little hurdle, but we got through it! (I hope...maybe my readers stuck around?)

I love you all! From the people who lurk, to the people who review every chapter, to the people who leave anonymous reviews, to the people who just leave kudos. I appreciate that you read my work. I love that you like it. If you weren't here keeping me honest, this story would just be rotting away on my computer with my other works because I am a big 'ole pussy who is scared to post things. Thank you. Love you.

-Love, Jumb.


	16. Charming Gardeners

" _Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."- Marcel Proust_

~two months of training later~

* * *

 **Luna**

"School is out, and it is time for the Dark Tournament. You know what to do here, right Hiro?"

"Yep. I know your form, and your voice, and can use both of them in a second's notice. I know everyone's excuses. If Shiori calls, you and Shuichi are on a botany trip that I gave you for your birthday. If Keiko visits, you are visiting your friends out of town, if she calls, pretend to be you. If school calls for any reason, make something up. Yusuke and Kuwabara are at a martial arts convention...uh...is that it?"

"You know where everyone lives right? So if someone gets sent after them you can stop it?"

"Oh yeah. Can do. I'll link to you if I need you, and if you are busy, I will try Kuro."

"Good plan. We are good to go."

"Don't get yourself chopped up for money, Luna."

"I'll do my best."

* * *

"You know, this is a pretty swanky establishment to house a whole lotta demons." Kuro looks to me as we head to the front desk of the Hotel Kubikukuri,

I look at the young man stationed there, he seems nice enough, "Reservation for Luna and Kuro."

He smiles, and then types into his little computer. Here it is. That will be-"

"It's free." I dig into his mind. It wasn't hard.

"Oh yes, of course it's free...I'll just.-"

"We want the room next to Team Urameshi's suite."

"Oh, okay, I will just change your reservation...there we go! Here are your keys!" That was way too easy. He didn't even try to keep me out. He smiled at us, and I heard Kuro laughing

"You are really good at that Luna. You make it an art form." I looked at him, we had decided our normal forms would be easiest to use, since it was a tournament for demons. However, we were wearing inconspicuous human clothing. It was strange to see a man with bat wings wearing a teeshirt and jeans. I am sure it was just as weird for him to see me in a bright orange sundress.

We went up to the room and looked around. It was really nice. Far too big for us, it was a six person suite, just like team Urameshi's would be. I was very happy I didn't have to pay for this. I reached into the mini fridge and grabbed two sodas, throwing one to Kuro.

"I don't understand why you like these things."

"Have you tried one?"

"No?"

"Try it. You'll see." I told him, and he popped the top and took a sip scrunching his face.

"Holy fuck that's sweet. But it burns...is it bubbly?" He seemed to be inspecting the can

"Yep." I saw him take another drink. He was sold.

After several minutes we heard the voices of Kurama and Kuwabara in the hall. I assumed the others were with them. Then we heard two others enter the room, from what we could hear through the walls, they were from the team they were fighting tomorrow, and then we heard them leave, talking about someone sleeping on the couch... _Yusuke._

Kuro turned to me, "Should we go introduce ourselves? Two of the five already know the truth, it will probably be easier to navigate this web of lies if they don't have to pretend to not recognize you. Plus, you look adorable, and I want to see Kurama's face when he sees you, but knows he can't touch you."

"That is cruel, but pretty funny. Yeah. I don't know who the fifth fighter is, but I am sure that we can trust them if they are here for the team...alright, let's do this. Follow my lead."

We head out into the hall and knock on the door. I bounced in place in my combat boots. Dresses have a way of making you feel free. After a second and mumbling from the other side, The door opens, and I see Kuwabara standing at the door. He is staring between me and Kuro. "Who are you guys?"

I hear Kurama from deeper in the room, "Invite them in, Kuwabara." Good old Kurama.

Kuwabara steps to the side, and Kuro and I enter the room. He closes the door behind us, "Kurama you know these guys?"

"You do too, though indirectly."

I give a big smile and a wave. "Hello, I am Luna, your friendly neighborhood wolf demon."

"I am Kuro, and apparently I am your friendly neighborhood bat-demon." Kuro jokes,

I speak again, "I have met Kurama, though the rest of you I have only watched from afar." I make eye contact with the masked fighter on the couch, "You I don't know, and I am taking a chance on trusting you. Please don't make me regret that."

Kuwabara spoke, "You are the demon that saved Keiko?"

"Yep. I just wanted to know we are in the room next to yours if you need us."

Kurama smiled, "How did you manage that?"

"I have ways." I gave a smirk. Kuwabara looked at me, "So you are here to help us?"

"We are here to try to keep anything truly awful from happening. Rich humans are more of a danger to us than demons are, so we have to keep a low profile."

Hiei looks at me, "Is that why you are wearing such brightly colored clothing?"

"Yes actually. The more obviously ordinary I seem, the less people will wonder what I am hiding. People will see the ears and tail and assume I am an ordinary cat or fox."

Kurama joined in, "She is right. This is easier to stay hidden."

Hiei makes eye contact with Kuro, "Are you a skin-walker too?"

"Yup. I am fortunate that nobody outside this room knows that you don't have to be a wolf to be a skin-walker." Kuro replied. I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling.

"We will leave you alone now. Just wanted to let you know we would be nearby the entire time you are here."

"Thank you. We really appreciate it." Kuwabara says quite sincerely, and I give a smile and a nod and we exit the room, returning to our own.

Kuro turns to me once we are in our own room, "Did you see it?"

"I was looking at Kuwabara. I am sorry."

"Ugh! It was beautiful! To the casual observer it looked like just a once over, but I know _him_ and I know that that was a total eyefuck."

"He needs to worry about staying alive, not how I look in my dress."

"He can do both..."

I got the feeling of Hiro in my head, I held up my finger to hush Kuro, "What is wrong?"

I felt Hiro's worry, "Uh Keiko called, she said that She and Shizuru made Botan tell them about the tournament and were about to head there themselves, they invited you to come, so I pretended to be you, and I figured you would tell them it was too dangerous and they should stay. But they were coming anyway. I,as you, said I would stay here to make sure nobody's parents figured out anything, and told them to make sure Kurama didn't do anything stupid."

"Oh fuck. You did good. I will just have to take care of them while I am here. Thank you."

"I'll still keep an eye on Shiori and Atsuko."

"Thanks Hiro." and he was gone.

Kuro was staring at me expectantly, "what is going on?"

"Keiko and Kuwabara's sister Shizuru bullied the ferry girl Botan into bringing them here. They are on their way."

"Okay, that's not good, but it's not bad either right?"

"If Keiko knows that I am here, she is going to ask me to intervene every time someone gets hurt, and she won't understand why I can't."

"Okay, so. What if I watch after the girls, and you watch after the boys, and during fights, we will watch both of them together?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Wait, where are they going to stay? The hotels are sold out..."

"They can stay here. We don't need more than a half hour of sleep anyway. We can work around them."

"Yeah, that sounds good...you are good at this."

"You are just way too emotionally invested in this whole matter to think clearly...now go back to the front desk, have them make you more room keys, and then convince them that if a Botan comes by, this is their room."

"You are a genius."

"I am aware."

I run down to the front desk, I knew that would be here in a few hours. "Hello, how long do you work tonight?" I asked the girl running the desk now.

"I am on duty from now until seven AM. I am in charge of the night shift." She smiled at me.

"Oh that's wonderful! Can you make me, like, four more keys to room 878?" Her brain offered only slightly more resistance than the last clerk.

"Of course!" She typed on a laptop, and four more keys pop out of a slot. She starts to hand them to me,

"Okay, sometime soon a pretty girl with blue hair named Botan is going to come looking for a room, and rather than telling her you are booked up, you are going to give her those keys and tell her that is her room, okay?"

"Okay!" She puts the keys in a little envelope and writes 'Botan' on the front. _Damn I am too good at this._

* * *

 **Kuronue**

I did what I promised and followed the girls the next morning. I stayed far enough away that the wouldn't notice me, but close enough to see them. Koenma got them into the arena and then left them to fend for themselves with seating. Figures. I found a spot large enough for both Luna and I behind and to the left of the girls, so that I could keep an eye on them. I kept finding myself stealing glances at the taller girl. Was she Keiko or Shizuru? She was probably the only human I ever found attractive...perhaps it was the combination of pretty face and bad attitude... I liked her vest...

* * *

 **Luna**

Once Kuro came in and found a spot near Keiko and Shizuru, I left my spot and moved to him. I followed his glance to Shizuru. _Really?_

"See something you like?" I tease.

"Which girl is which?" He didn't even look away.

"Shizuru is taller and wearing the vest."

"Is she a girlfriend of...one of them?" _Casual question, eh?_

"She is Kuwabara's older sister. As far as I know she is single."

I watched Kuwabara fight the kid with the Yoyos. I knew not to push Kuro too far. This wasn't the way he looked at girls he wanted a fling with, he looked at her like he had never seen anything quite like her before. I hoped it worked out. Rinku was throwing Kuwabara around the ring, but I knew he was nowhere near death. If he got close, I would intervene, but not until I had to...

We could faintly hear her words, "At least baby bro is getting a good view of the stadium right?" as she lit a cigarette, I caught the faint impression of a smile from Kuro.

"How can you joke right now? Don't you know what'll happen if he falls?" Keiko. Ever the worrier.

"That's easy. He'll die."

"Shizuru! You should be ashamed of yourself, provoking her like that! Keiko is worried because your brother's life happens to be hanging by a literal thread!"

"And us getting upset will make a heck of a difference, won't it?" She takes a drag from her cigarette, and I see Kuro's smile grow.

Then Keiko stood up "Yusuke! How can you keep sleeping when your friend is in trouble with these nasty demons! Help him Yusuke! Get off your lazy butt and help him!" Every demon in earshot was looking at her now. _Fucking shit._ I heard Kuro laughing, but I could tell he was focusing on the demons too, looking in their heads and convincing the ones who were thinking about retaliating that it was a bad plan.

Then when I thought it couldn't get worse Keiko ran out of her seat and down the aisle. "Don't get any closer Keiko, we're not on safe grounds!" Botan trying to bring logic into this..

"Maybe Shizuru is right, and worrying won't make a difference, but _I_ still have to try." She gave her little speech, not even notice the demon that had come to stand behind her. I got ready to strike if he tried to do anything other than talk.

"What's the matter, little girl, you lost? Go on back to your home, this little tournament is for apparitions only."

Keiko looked mad, I was almost proud, "You can't scare me with that talk. I know Yusuke has beaten creatures a lot bigger than you!" In any other situation. Pride. Right now? Frustration. Stop provoking him!

"Your boy's asleep, too bad you can't protect yourself!" He stuck his tongue out and began to move in to lick her, apparently. She screamed, I was about to move when Kuro stopped me. Shizuru had gotten up and had just put her cigarette out on the demon's tongue. No fear. She was my human hero.

"Thanks a lot." Keiko says, as the demon ran away crying, holding his tongue. Botan got up to join them in the aisle.

"I see where Kuwabara developed the need to defend himself growing up."

Shizuru shrugged, "eh."

The three of them continued down the aisle to the barrier so that Keiko could more effectively yell at Yusuke. I turned to look at Kuro who had a smile on his face. "I don't think I have ever felt this attracted to a human before."

I laughed, "Shizuru is a badass bitch."

"Think she'd go for a demon?"

"I dunno. Maybe you should find out."

Kuwabara is fighting with Yusuke rather than getting back in the ring.

"Her brother is a dumbass though."

"But he has a heart of gold." Kuwabara gets counted out, "But yea, he is kind of an idiot."

The next competitors step in the ring, first what appears to be a type of imp demon, and then Kurama. _Oh shit. Will I be able to watch him get hurt without doing anything about it?_

Botan hops to the arena floor, appearing to give a peptalk, and then dragging Yusuke away from the ring. I wasn't paying attention, I was watching Kurama... The fight begins, and I listen closely.

"I know you have been spending years in the human world... we all do what we must I just hope you didn't say...get attached to some of them?... for example be mournful of their death?" He forms a sword attached to his arm.

"What is your point?"

Roto runs at Kurama, slashing at him, but Kurama easily avoids all his attacks.

I hear Shizuru speak, "This red-haired boy, I don't think he's really human."

Keiko answers, "He's not. He's a demon, and he is sort-of Tsuki's boyfriend. You remember her, right?"

"Right. That explains a lot actually." Shizuru was too aware for her own good, but I didn't really have time to worry about what she meant. Because Kurama was behind Roto, and I could barely make out their words.

"Your skills weren't enough for this tournament. Say your last words."'

"I have your human mother, Kurama, or should I say, Shuichi!" And then a cut across his face. Kuro turned to me.

I think to Hiro. "Hiro! Shiori!" I felt his urgency.

"I'm on it." Was all he thought to me.

"Allow me to introduce my little button. When I press it, a signal will be sent to my demon brother, He has been tracking your mother for some time you see, and he has been very anxious to bite her head off. I thought about sending him after your little human girlfriend, but she was apparently hard to find." Kurama lowered his defenses, "so you understand." He began to punch Kurama, but I saw him plant a seed in Roto's chest while he distracted him with a pebble. "Now fold your arms behind your back and let me hit you as I please!" Kurama obliged, and I felt Hiro in my head. "Spectral Demon following her has been eliminated...Painfully. Anything else?"

I smiled, "Thank you Hiro."

"No problem. I will keep following her just in case." He severs the link.

I look at Kuro, "Hiro took care of the demon's brother."

"Good, I think Kurama had it under control anyway with that seed and pebble trick, but it's nice to be sure." He responds calmly. He is probably much more familiar with Kurama's tricks than I am.

"Tell them how you refuse to fight for the sake of a human tramp!" Roto punches Kurama repeatedly, and I resist the urge to make him strangle himself to death right there on the arena floor, I feel Kuro put his hand on my knee.

"He is fine. Relax. He doesn't need you to go all Carrie and start killing everyone."

"How have you even seen that movie?"

"I have seen a lot of movies. I have a life, you know."

Roto makes another cut on Kurama's cheek, and I feel my claws cut into my own palm. I see his blood spray across the ring, and Kuro grips my knee tighter.

Roto lifts his knee, "I would like you to lick the scum off my boot. I just can't seem to keep it clean. And once it is clean, I will decapitate you and spare your nasty mother's life. Since you care about her Shuichi it is really your only choice."

Kuro leans to me, "If that seed was what I am thinking it was, the fun should begin soon."

Kurama speaks, "I will not... go ahead. Press it now if you wish." Kurama begins to casually brush himself off.

"Finally, your true character emerges. You're nothing special. Nothing High-class. Just a selfish demon like all the rest of us here, look at me like dirt, but in the end it's a lie. You think of only yourself!" He laughs

Kuro leans to me, "right about now."

"Push it!"

"I will!" Roto raises his arm to push the button, but stops. Paralyzed. Kurama knocks the button from his hand.

"Fighting on the strength of one threat is a very risky gamble. What if I didn't care? Or what if I could just make you immobile? I have sewn the seed of the death plant in your body, and it's had plenty of time to take root..." He stands with the button in one hand and the other on his chin. "I feed it with my energy, I have but to will it, and it will instantly bloom. I'm afraid there won't be anything left of your evil life after that." He turns to walk away,

"Wait Kurama, you don't have to do this! I never would have actually pushed the button! I swear it!" Kurama continues to walk away, "I am a low class I don't know any better...You believe in mercy, don't you?",

He glances back. "No." And then in an explosion of blood and pink and purple blooms, Roto is no more. "What irony. Such beauty sprung from such an ugly soil."

I look at Kuro, "That was beautiful."

He smiled, "I knew you were gonna like that. The death plant was always a favorite of his. His kills are much prettier than mine. Or yours for that matter. I think you judge the validity of your kills based on how far the blood goes."

I quirk a brow but ignore his comment, and then listen to the conversation on the ground. Hiei is speaking to Kurama, "what a fool so intent on proving himself, he didn't notice your moves. Don't worry about his demon friend, he died only forty six seconds after Roto mentioned him. It appears Luna works quickly."

"Then you knew?" Hiei nods, and I see Kurama glancing over the crowd, I got the feeling he was looking for me.

* * *

When Zeru and Hiei took the area, Kuro stood up. "Zeru attacked the crowd before, I am going to go watch from in front of the girls so if it happens again, I can stop it." I nodded and he did as he said he would, he moved so that he was a few rows in front of Keiko and Shizuru.

Sure enough, when the fight began, Zeru launched flames into the audience, though Kuro never had to block them, because the masked fighter had the same idea, and the flames never even got close.

Hiei pretended to be beaten, everyone seemed to fall for it, but I knew he was just a faker. Hard to kill a fire demon with fire, especially one like Hiei... Then he called out to the darkness flame. _That seems a little drastic._ But boy did it look cool, And was immensely effective. Zeru was just a skidmark on the wall, and Hiei survived. Color me impressed. His arm was badly injured though. I could feel it through him.

I walked to join Kuro in his spot in front of the girls. I missed his company, and we did need to be able to protect them. We watched Yusuke's fight with Chu with relatively little that we had to do, I actually heard Keiko getting involved in the action and I was proud of her. As long as she didn't piss anyone off. The match was pretty great to watch, really. The knife edge death match was beautiful in its own brutal way. Then Keiko got upset and left, and Shizuru chased after her. Kuro and I chased them silently. When Shizuru took a wrong turn, I followed Keiko, and he followed Shizuru.

* * *

 **Kuronue**

"If you had just kept the cigarette in your mouth...you wouldn't have had to put your foot in it." I was close enough to hear her, and close enough to notice the demons that were sneaking up on her. I knew I had to get in there. When she noticed and turned around, one of them spoke, "It's a human...excuse me miss, this is no place for a lady." She didn't show them fear if she felt it. I respected that, coming up behind her, I looked at the four demons.

"I think the lady has as much of a right to be here as anyone." She turned to glance at me, and I gave her the kindest smile I could muster, I didn't know how to _not_ scare a human.

"What kind of demon are you to protect a human?"

"Trust me, you don't want to find out." I gave them a stern glance, and dropped my barrier so they could feel that they were no match for me. From the little gasp Shizuru made, I know she could feel it too. _Well fuck. Scaring her is definitely a good first impression._ "I suggest you all leave."

They exchanged fearful glances with each other before running away down the hallway they came from. I turned to look at her, and she was giving me a curious look that I couldn't quite place. "You have been following us...Why?" She must have sensed me around her earlier, and noticed me in the stands near her. I thought I was sneaky. I am impressed.

I gave a smirk and scratched behind my ear, "Would you believe me if I said you were beautiful and i wanted to ask you out?"

"No." No hesitation, but a bit of annoyance. Huh.

"Has Keiko told her about the wolf-demon that protects her?"

"She may have mentioned it." She puts her hands on her hips. She wasn't the least bit scared of me, it was kinda hot.

"Well, that wolf demon is my best friend, and I am here as back-up to make sure none of you get hurt."

"Then why didn't you follow Keiko instead of me?"

"When you lost her, Luna followed Keiko. I followed you."

"I can take care of myself."

"Oh I know." I give a grin, "But you shouldn't have to."

"So you are a demon?"

"I am...I am a bat demon" I angle my shoulders to show her my wings.

"You can fly with those?"

"No. They are just for show." I joke,

"Ha. ha. Very funny. I didn't know demons had a sense of humor."

"I didn't know humans could be so fuckin' sassy." I laugh, and she smiles at me. She was beautiful.

"Is it weird to ask if I can touch them?"

I raise my brow, "For future reference, yes that's weird. But yes you can." I tilt my shoulder downward and around, and extend my wing a bit. Then she gently places her hand on me, and I feel it...that tingle, it's light, probably because she is a human, but it is there. I feel her pull back a little, but I then she just continues to run her fingers across the thick skin of my wing.

"It's like leather...What is that tingling feeling?" _She feels it too._

"Do you want a complicated and semi-awkward truth, or a simple lie?" I ask, making eye contact once again, and she gives me a sly smile. "Complicated truth. I've got time."

"That tingle means that there is a mutual attraction between us." I give her a wink, and she laughs.

"You are making that shit up."

"I swear, if I were going to make something up it would be much more believable than that."

"Complicated truth or simple lie..."

"Exactly."

"So you weren't kidding when you said I was beautiful and you wanted to ask me out?"

"It was a truthful joke. You are beautiful, but that wasn't why I was following you. _That_ would be creepy."

"You following me into a dark hallway and letting me touch your batwing is still kind of creepy." I laugh, "Do you have a tail, too?"

I narrow my eyes, "I don't know much about bats in the human world, but I am fairly sure they don't have tails either."

"I like my demons with tails. A girl can dream right?"

"Oh, so wings and pointy ears aren't enough for you?" I tease, stepping closer to her.

She doesn't step away, but she doesn't come closer to me either. I really have no idea what I am doing.

"I don't know. We'll see. I don't even know your name."

"My name is Kuro."

"I'm Shizuru, but I am sure you already know that."

"I did, but introductions are an important part of any new friendship."

She raises a brow and cocks her hip, "I thought you wanted to ask me on a date."

Now I am confused, and I think my face shows it. "I thought you were supposed to start as friends..." I put my hand over my face. "I have no idea what I am doing"

She laughs at me, and grabs my wrist to pull my hand away. More tingling. More intense this time. "I think you are doing fine. We should get back to the match"

I twitch my ears, "From the sounds of it the match is over. Yusuke won."

"Well that's good to hear. How's Keiko?" She tilts her head slightly when she asks a question.

"I'll ask. Just a second."

I link to Luna. "How is Keiko?"

"She is fine, she ran out to ask Kuwabara to stop the fight, but seemed to realize Yusuke loved what he was doing. Now that the match is over, she and Botan are heading back to the room. I think they are sort of worried about Shizuru."

"She is fine. She is with me."

"You dog!" I feel her laugh. "I'll leave you to it." and she is gone, I look back down to Shizuru who seems amused.

"She is fine. She and Botan are wondering where you are though."

"How do you know that?"

"I can talk to Luna telepathically."

"Isn't that weird?"

"No, not really. It's a little weirder now, because she is sorta dating my old best friend, and hearing her dirty thoughts about him on accident is really disturbing."

She laughs, "So your two best friends are dating each other?"

"Yeah. I am happy for them, but it means I am doomed to permanent third wheel-dom."

"Hey Kuro, I have a theory, if I am right, will you promise to tell me the truth?"

"If I say no, will I ever get that date?"

"No."

"Then I promise."

"Tsuki is Luna isn't she?" _What the actual fuck. Oh shit. I just promised her I wouldn't lie._ I sigh, and that reveals the answer. This girl is _waaayyy_ too on top of things. "Don't worry, I won't tell Keiko. I just want to know what I am dealing with."

"How did you know?"

"Well, I met Tsuki once, and I knew she didn't feel _normal_ but I didn't really know about demons that the time. Then I learned that Kurama was a demon, and Tsuki was his girlfriend, and then it was way too suspicious that she didn't want to come to this tournament. You told me that Luna was here for Keiko, and boom. Puzzle solved."

I began to laugh, she turns to me, "What is so funny?"

"Kurama was basically dating her for six months and still didn't figure it out, and you figure it out in like, five minutes when you only met her once. It is fucking hilarious."

"I should be getting back to the hotel. They will probably be worried..."

"You can probably meet them on the way out... I can go with you so you won't be alone."

"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks."

"I need to cut out when you find them though. Seeing me would raise a lotta questions."

"You are right...wait, how can I contact you if I need to? Keiko said Luna did some sort of crazy thing that lets her contact Luna if she needs to."

"You want to do that with me?"

"Sure, how does it work?"

"We share blood, and then when you think of me, I will have a connection to your mind and hear your thoughts until I leave, or until you block me out. Kinda like vampires, you have to invite me in."

"Does it work both ways, if you think of me, will I hear your thoughts?"

"Yes, but I have more control over it because I am used to it, if I initiated the connection it would be like I was knocking on the door to your brain. It's very disorienting if you aren't used to it."

"Sounds fun. Let's do it."

"Are you sure? There is no undoing it." I wanted to make sure she was sure about this, giving me access to her mind was a display of trust unlike anything I had experienced.

"I am sure Kuro. I can tell immediately if someone can be trusted or not. I can trust you." I nod, and I take her hand in mine, poking her finger with my claw just enough to draw blood, then doing the same to mine and joining them together. The bonding in conjunction with the tingle of our energy bridge was really nice. "Is it just me or is that tingling thing getting stronger?"

"I think that means I am growing on you."

She punches me in the shoulder, and it was more forceful than I expected. We waited outside the stadium watching the mass exodus of people, and waiting for signs of Botan and Keiko, and as soon as we saw them I leaned to her ear, "I'll see you later Shizuru." and I faded into the crowd, watching her rejoin her friends... _What the hell just happened to me?_

* * *

 **Kurama**

We returned to the hotel to recuperate. I had not seen any evidence of Luna around me the entire day, but I knew that she was. I needed to thank her for saving my mother...however she did it. After some initial rest and a change of clothing to something a little less bloodstained, I went to knock on the door of the next door neighbors. She said that is where they were, I had to hope that is where she was now. The door opened and it was...Botan?

"Oh hello Kurama! I didn't know you knew what room we were in! It is so great to see you, how are you feeling?" I saw Kuwabara's sister Shizuru eyeing me curiously from deeper within the room before looking distracted. _That was odd._

"Oh I am well. Thank you. This is your room?"

"Yes, when we got here I thought the place was going to be all booked up, but the clerk asked if I was Botan and said there was already a room for me! Koenma is the best, isn't he?"

 _Oh yes...Koenma._

Shizuru stepped forward, "You are Kurama, right? I don't think we met properly, I am Shizuru." She extended her hand, and I shook it.

"It's a pleasure."

"Can we talk in the hall a minute?" She gave me a glance that told me to play along.

"Sure." I glanced at Botan who seemed to be slightly confused, but didn't seem to voice her concern. Shizuru closed the door behind us.

"Okay, so I know you just met me, but I know a lot...I know you are a demon. I know you are dating a demon who is pretending to be a human, and I can't tell Keiko. And I know this room used to belong to Kuro and Luna. Apparently they gave it to us. Kuro said if you are looking for them that they are in one of the trees near the back left of the hotel so they can still see in and enter through the windows if they must."

I was almost speechless, "Wow, you do know a lot."

"Yeah, so Kuro insinuated that you and him were old BFF's. Has he always been such a dumbass when asking a girl on a date?" _Oh my God, Kuronue actually found a girl he wanted to date? And she is human? I never thought I'd see the day._

"Well as far as I know, it's the first time he has ever done it. Most demon girls are much more forward and don't really let attachment get involved."

"Girls just threw themselves at him didn't they?"

I laughed, "Pretty much. I never saw him meet anyone he wanted to spend more than one night with, much less be willing to have a human date with." I relayed honestly.

"I can trust him right? I feel like I can but, I have a notoriously bad taste in men. Tall, dark and dangerous hasn't really panned out in the past."

"Kuronue is an interesting man, but when he cares about someone, and it seems like he cares about you, he is fiercely loyal. He hides behind a constant wall of sarcasm and inappropriate jokes, however."

"So do I, so that's right at home...wait, Kuronue?"

 _Damn._ "That is his full name, but because of the type of demon he is, the use of it will hurt him, so he uses Kuro instead. Old habits die hard though."

"Thanks Kurama. Go see your girlfriend. Sucks that you have to hide being with her here so everyone doesn't think you are cheating on her. That's an awkward situation." She laughs. Her bluntness is rather refreshing.

"It is. Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Same." She reopened the door and returned inside, and I made my way out of the hotel and around to the back. When I approach the small area of trees, I hear someone drop down behind me.

"I heard you were looking for us? I am sure you were looking for Luna, but she is finally sleeping. She doesn't do that often, so I wanted to let it happen as long as I could." Kuro smiled at me, I still wasn't used to the fact that he was alive, and I definitely wasn't used to seeing him in such ordinary human clothing.

"I met Shizuru. She asked me about you."

"Oh hell, what did you tell her?"

"Only the truth."

"That doesn't make me feel better. If anything, it is making it worse." He seemed genuinely worried. I had never seen him so worked up over a woman before, and I seen him with a great many women. When we were partners, they would come for me because I was a legend, but they would often stay for him.

"Afraid to scare her away?"

"Well, I am not as exactly as humanized as you and Luna are. I don't know how humans date. Fuck, I don't even know how demons date."

"Why her, Kuro?"

"I don't know. Something about her. She is just a regular human, very aware, but not very strong, but she _still_ doesn't take shit from anyone. I saw her put out her cigarette on the tongue of a demon today. It was hot as hell."

I laughed, I had heard stories about Shizuru but never actually met her before today. This could be good for him.

"She asked if she could touch my wings, so I let her...and the tingle was there." I knew exactly what he was talking about. That pleasant sensation that first drew me to Tsuki when I first met her. "Didn't even know it could happen with a human, since you turned out to actually be a demon we had no clue... but it happens. She felt it too. I was honest with her. I told her exactly what it meant."

"What did she say about it?"

"It didn't seem to phase her. She is confusing. I don't get her."

"That is part of the fun, though." I answered, and I heard movement from above me, Kuro looked up, but the movement stopped.

"She is still asleep...this sort of thing is the exact opposite of what she is good at."

"What do you mean?"

"I have seen how fiercely she protects her friends before, but it's even crazier with you. Watching you get hurt and not being able to stop it is very difficult for her."

"What did she say?"

"She'll never _say_ anything... I could just feel her anger. You have yet to see her pissed off... She is a wolf who lost her pack, and now she feels like she has one again."

"She'd do anything to protect us..."

"Yeah. She'd kill the whole stadium if that's what she had to do."

I laughed, I knew it was true...and honestly I knew she could probably do it. "She saved my mother, didn't she?"

"Well, technically Hiro did, but she put the precautions in place. He has been following your mother and and Yusuke's mother in case someone were to come for them, all she had to do was tell Hiro, and it was taken care of. He may not have embraced the demon lifestyle, but he was a hunter before. He is very capable."

We heard more movement above us, and then in a moment, Luna was on the ground with us. She was still wearing that orange dress, I could tell her hair was a little messed up from sleeping in a tree. I reached forward and pulled her into my arms. She wrapped her arms around me, and I was comforted by the feeling of her touch. Kuro smiled at us, "I am going to go keep watch on everyone." and then with a silent flap of his wings, he was off.

Luna pulled away and pressed her hand to my face where I was cut, I felt her using her powers, I didn't know if I was ever going to get used to that. "Thank you for saving my mother."

"Hiro saved your mother. Hell, you had it under control anyway."

"I know but..."

"Yeah I know. You have to work under the assumption that nobody is going to help you. I get that. It's smart. Doesn't mean I have to like watching someone beat the hell out of you under pretense of a threat I know has been eliminated."

"I thought you liked to see me fight." I teased.

"I like to see you _fight._ I don't like to see you hurt. Major difference." I know my face is healed, at this point she is just trying to make me less tired. I reach up and pull her hand down, and then I put my hand on her face to pull her lips to mine. This isn't a heated kiss. Its tender. This entire tournament will most likely be her in emotional turmoil because she will be worried about me, compounded by the fact she knows she _could_ stop it but cannot.

I rest my forehead on hers, and our breathing syncs up on its own. "I'll try not to make you worry any more than I have to." I feel her move her head in a nod. "Did you know Kuronue asked Shizuru on a date?"

She laughed, "I can't imagine him on a date, what would he even do?"

"I don't know but he will have to figure it out." I laugh, "I wonder why he is finally trying to make an emotional attachment."

"In a way he is jealous." I quirk a brow with a smirk,

"Not like that...for a long time we were both best friends, bitter and alone. Pursuing small goals. Now, not only have you taken away his goal of avenging your death, but he can feel through me what it is like to let your emotions get involved. He knows that it is worth the risk."

"I didn't even think about that. What has he been doing the past two months?"

"He has been Robin Hood." She laughs, "I told him to be a vigilante and help people, but it appears he couldn't leave crime behind, so he compromised."

"I bet he is good at it." I smile devilishly and back her up into the trunk of the tree and we kiss passionately for a few moments, she sighs when I pull away. "If anyone sees us, they'll think I am cheating on you."

"Cheating on your girlfriend with your girlfriend. That is awkward."

I kiss her again, smiling against her lips, I don't know when we will get another moment alone, so I want to taste her and feel her as much as I can while I have the opportunity.

She pushes me slightly and begins to speak, "What are the odds of Hiei letting me fix his arm?"

"Slim to none." Hiei would accept help from no one, it would make him feel weak.

"I figured." She pulls me back to her.


	17. Those I Like

" _I have learned that to be with those I like is enough." -Walt Whitman_

 **Luna**

The next morning was an off day, which means that apparently everyone splits up and makes my job incredibly difficult. Hiei and Kurama left first. Kurama went to scope out the other teams, and Hiei was on the shore trying to regain use of his arm. Then Yusuke left, and I got the feeling that something was wrong. Kuwabara left soon after, and the Masked fighter, who I now suspected to be Genkai, followed Yusuke, if something _was_ going on with him, she'd take care of it. Does this mean a free day for me? Kuro was watching after the girls who were smart enough to stay together and stay in the room. Maybe I should just let Keiko see me, I mean, she seems to understand Yusuke and his fighting more now. Maybe she will be more willing to accept why I can't step in.

I barely noticed Kuro joining me in the tree. "Shizuru and the girls are drinking. We should join them. I think they will understand...live a little. The boys will all be fine." I turned to look at him, maybe he was right. "I'll bring our beer"

So that is what we did, we knocked on the door to our own room and Shizuru answered. She barely acknowledged me and her eyes went straight to Kuro. He spoke "We still won't be able to sit with you in the stadium, but we thought we would bring booze and join in the fun, if you'll have us?" I could hear the smile in his voice, and I was assuming it was mirroring the one on Shizuru.

"Of course, anyone who brings their own beer is welcome at this party!" She steps out of the way, and we head inside. Botan and Keiko come out of one of the rooms, "Shizuru who is it?"

Keiko sees me and smiles. _It's about damn time someone looks happy to see me._ "Luna! You're here!" She bolts towards me and pulls me into a hug.

"Of course I am here, you think I am just gonna let you go to a demon tournament without me watching you?" She laughs, and I hear Shizuru,

"And this is Kuro. I met him yesterday."

Botan, ever predictable, "Oh is this the cute demon boy who saved you?" Keiko and I looked at them, Shizuru looked unamused, Kuro however was the opposite,

"You told them I was cute?" He teased, and she glared at him, but it was obviously a playful one.

I could tell Keiko and Botan were a little confused, "Kuro is my best friend, there are way too many of you in a too dangerous place. I asked him to help me protect all of you."

Keiko whispers to me, "Seems like he wants to protect Shizuru a lot." I giggle and nod. Kuro gives me a glare.

"So how about them brewskis!" Shizuru calls out and the five of us circle around a pile of snacks with drinks in hand.

"Three cheers to our team in their next big fight, May they kick some demon butt!"

"Cheers" We all clink our cans in the middle, above the pile of snacks, and Shizuru grabs one,

"You hear! You better win next time little bro!" Keiko laughs.

"He put up a good fight though, you gotta give him that" I add.

"He took one hell of a beating, but kept on trying. Commendable." Kuro supplies, drinking from his flask.

"Do I even want to know what is in that?" Botan asks him and he smirks.

"Ogre Killer. Want some?"

"Oh God no!" Botan cries, "That is one of demon world's hardest liquors!"

Shizuru slaps his arm lightly, "Can I try it?" He gives her a surprised look, and then turns to me,

"Will this kill a human?"

"Uh, if she only takes a small sip she should be fine. It'll feel like she drank burning gasoline though." Keiko looks at me in horror.

"Sounds great! Gimme!" Shizuru took the flask from Kuro and he laughed as she took a sip, her face recoiled and she coughed, "Oh dear God. How can you drink that like its water?"

"Years of practice...and you know...I'm not human."

Keiko looks at him curiously, "I know Luna is a wolf, but what are you? Can I ask that?"

"I am a bat."

Botan gasps a little, "Bat demons are extremely rare as well!" Botan turns to me, "So you too aren't...?"

I can't contain my laughter. "Nope. Never! He is closer to my brother than anything."

Shizuru smiles at me, "So you must know all kinds of embarrassing secrets."

"You have no idea." I tease.

Kuro grabs a bag from the snack pile and throws it at my face. "Shut the hell up and eat your pretzels."

Keiko laughs, "You _are_ like siblings."

Botan looks to Keiko, "You should go say hello to Yusuke, you know."

"I told you already, I don't want to interrupt. I would only distract him."

I chimed in, "He does want to see you...maybe not today though. He is dealing with some stuff, probably from all his training."

"See!" Keiko pointed at Botan, "I will see him, just later...when we are both ready."

I vaguely acknowledged Kuro leaning to whisper to Shizuru, "So how in denial about their relationship are those two?"

She whispered back, "She hasn't kissed him since he was dead, if that tells you anything."

Kuro tries to stifle his giggles, but Botan and Keiko realize they were whispering.

"And what is so funny over there?" Botan accuses.

"Oh nothing at all" Shizuru replies, perhaps a little too nonchalantly. Botan glares, unhappy to be left out of the hot gossip.

"Oh, just the sweet nothings from a bat who never learned how to be romantic." I joke, Shizuru smirks, and Kuro glares.

"Those pretzels aren't gonna eat themselves, Luna."

"Oh don't threaten me because you don't know how to talk to girls." I take a swig from the flask he gave me.

"You talk big for a four thousand year old virgin."

I hear Botan gasp and clap her fingers over her mouth. Shizuru and Keiko just looked shocked. I narrow my eyes, "That was uncalled for."

Shizuru smirks, "So it's true, you really haven't..?" A scandalous smile crosses Botan's face and I see Keiko blush.

"Oh no. We are not going down that road."

Botan seemed almost offended by this revelation, "Why not? Haven't you been in love?"

"I have." I take a swig, "Things got complicated." She gave me an exaggerated pout.

Shizuru squinted, "But what about-" Kuro gently places his hand over her mouth, that demon liquor apparently made her loose lipped. She looked at him in realization and nodded. He removed his hand. "Oh...righttt."

Botan glared at her, "Are you three keeping secrets from the rest of the class?"

I feign offense slapping my hand to my chest, "We would never!"

Keiko laughs, and we continue on with regular conversation. For me to be living a lie, and Kuro having never really interacted with anyone but other demons, we were doing quite well. Kuro seemed happy. We admitted that it was actually our room and we had only given it to them. They insisted that we stay here as well, it was a six person suite afterall. We agreed. Not long after, Botan excused herself to go watch the fights, I figured she would be fine on her own. She was capable, and she only had a single beer.

* * *

The next morning Kuro continued to watch the girls, even though they were the only ones who could contact us if they needed help, they were still the ones who needed us most. Kurama and Hiei were both having early morning preparations so I watched the three humans instead, and followed them to the arena. When we got there and I realized that Kurama and Hiei weren't there, I knew something was wrong.

"Kuro?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll stay here. Watch the girls. Intervene if it looks like any of our team will die. Go check on Kurama."

* * *

I arrived just in time to see Hiei and Kurama easily dismember one of the missing fighters for Dr. Ichagaki's team. The other one removes a remote of some sort, and at the press of a button, some sort of mechanical monster comes online nearby and stalks toward them. Its arms extend and begin to snake around as Kurama and Hiei avoid the attacks. Hiei strikes one of the machine's arms, but the material the monster is made of is too strong. The demon begins a long winded explanation of the science of the material. Metal joined with cells. Clever really.

Of course, Hiei acts out of anger, and tries to attack the demon instead, but the machine clips his legs and he falls to the ground, landing hard on his crippled arm. _Fuck._ He crumbles in pain and is an easy target. One of the arms pins Hiei to a tree. I hear Kurama yell for him. I have to do something. _He said the outside was coated in the material. I just need to attack from the inside._ I have done something similar before. The easiest opening will be around his single eye. _Dammit, I hate taking the form of such creatures, but I have to._ I shapeshift into a gnat, the vision in this body is abysmal, but I am aware enough to fly my way through the small crack between the eye and the rest of its body, and navigate the machinery til I am roughly in the center. Things are cramped. This will probably hurt, but it should be effective.

I Instantly shapeshift into my wolf form, feeling the internal machinery around me rip apart as I rip my way out of it from the inside.

I look around at the scraps of machinery and the arms that have now become limp and are lying on the ground. The demon looks at me,

"What the hell are you?" he screams, but I snarl and knock him to the ground, my paws digging into his shoulders. I hear Hiei laugh,

"Heel!" He yells, I can hear his amusement as he comes to stand beside me, and Kurama soon after him. I haven't taken my eyes off the demon, but I can feel that they are right beside us.

"Who needs a demon machine when you can just have a guard dog?" He will pay for that later, but for now I figure it is best to just play along, I growl at the demon, but step off of him. Sitting between Kurama and Hiei.

"I don't understand!" He yells, and starts to stand but I growl viciously and he stops,

Kurama speaks, "You were wrong."

"I was wrong, what do you mean? What just happened?"

"The ability to feel pain is not a weakness, it is a strength. Pain tells the creature its vulnerabilities, and not to expose them to attack. And since the doctor put so much effort on making the outside indestructible, it was very easy for _her_ to rip it apart from the inside." He pats me on the head. I guess he is having fun pretending I am just a large demon hound as well. Whatever. "Your robot is dead, and so, I'm afraid, are you."

The demon gets off the ground and tries to run, but he is slow. I quickly sink my teeth into his reptilian tail somewhere near the end.. It is slimy and tastes like a swamp. They owe me. I use it to throw the demon back on the ground.

"Good girl." I hear Hiei. I glance to him and show my teeth, and he laughs.

"Now you are going to tell us everything we want to know, and between her and Hiei, I don't think you want to refuse." Kurama speaks beside me, and I clench tighter on the demon's tail to help prove the point. More of his blood enters my mouth. I used to love ripping throats out with my teeth, now having a little demon blood in my mouth disgusts me? Have I really become so domestic?

"I don't know anything, I swear!" He screams.

"Wrong answer." Kurama states, and he glances to me. _Alright, dear._ I chomp, severing the lower eighth of his tail. He releases a blood curdling demons such as this don't have all that much blood in their tails, but there is a lot of feeling. Hiei reaches forward and takes the severed appendage from my mouth, and I replace my teeth a little further up what remains of his tail. Proving that I am more than willing to repeat the process.

Hiei dangles the severed tail in front of his face. "Keep lying to us and you are going to leave here with a much shorter tail if you even get to leave at all."

"Okay, okay!" he cries. "The doctor controls the three fighters with the Veruccae on their backs. He poisoned their master to get them to agree to his experiments. He told them it was just blood research."

"And if the Veruccae are removed?"

"At this point it would kill them." I look into his mind as best I can, it is harder to do from an animal form. He is telling the truth. But there is more.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Kurama states. He doesn't realize there is more. I glance to him and whine. He gives me a knowing glance. "It appears as though there is more information you aren't volunteering."

"No, no! I told you all I know, I promise!" I dig in deeper with my teeth, making it hurt as much as possible, he screams again. I am sure with all the trauma I have already done to the tail, what is left is even more sensitive.

"She knows you are lying."

"She is a dog!" I know I am playing the part, but I still didn't like him being flippant. I severed that section of tail and quickly moved my mouth up again, dropping the bit of tail onto the ground. He screamed and sobbed.

I heard Hiei laugh, "I don't think she likes being called a dog. Wouldn't you agree Kurama?"

"I agree. She is more like a cherished member of the family...but with more hair." The demon was staring at them, their jokes seemed to be making him even more uncomfortable.

"You are all insane!" I dug in deeper. More sobs.

"You know, if she wants to kill you, I won't stop her. I recommend just telling us what you know. Because she knows that you have more to tell us, and she won't stop until she is satisfied with your cooperation."

"The fighters' master is here in a cave somewhere."

"Where is the cave?" Kurama asks.

"I don't know!" _Yes you do._ I grind my teeth. I can feel his blood in my fur. I need a damn shower.

"It would appear that you do."

"Alright, alright. I do... I can show you where...just make her stop" _That was the truth. But if he tries to run I am ripping his throat out._ I dropped his tail but moved my teeth to his throat and snarled to make that point clear.

Hiei chuckled again, "I don't think she likes you much. Perhaps you shouldn't try to run."

The demon nods hurriedly, and I allow him to stand, and the four of us walk deeper into the forest, I stay at the heels of the demon just in case he does something stupid. As we walk, I feel the tingle as Kurama places his hand where my shoulders meet my neck. He drags his fingers through my fur lightly scratching my skin. I had never felt this in wolf form before. I can see why dogs like it.

I tilt my head to glance at him and he smiles at me. How he can still look at me so lovingly when I am a giant wolf with the blood of a demon dripping from my mouth is beyond me. But he managed to do it.

We reached the cave that the master was in, and as soon as we were there Hiei knocked the demon out cold, and he fell to the ground. The master turned to look at us, he seemed very sick. Kurama approached him,

"Hello, my name is Kurama. I am here to help you, can you tell me anything about your symptoms?" Kurama was playing doctor. This might be a while. I sat at attention, and Hiei dragged the demon in front of me and then came to stand beside me.

"I thought you prefered manipulation to actual violence?" He whispered. I looked at him, when I was sitting like this, we were the same height. It was rather amusing.

I felt him looking in my mind, so I could actually respond. "It was a machine. No mind to manipulate. I improvised, and then I had to play along."

He laughed, and he was no longer in my mind. I was happy he didn't try to prod me, We watched Kurama as he took seeds from his hair and began to make some sort of medicine. He really was incredible.

After a bit of time, it seemed like the master was improving. He was sitting up, and talking to Kurama who was explaining the situation to him. He could be so cruel to his enemies, but so kind to others. I loved that about him.

Kurama walked back over to us. "Hiei, I think you and I need to make an entrance at the arena."

"I agree. We should drop in with him" he kicks the comatose demon, "And what remains of that robot."

"Agreed." Kurama turns to look at me, "Can you carry him to the arena as well?" His eyes said he meant for me to keep playing the part, since the master had already seen a hellhound, he would expect me to continue to be a hellhound. I nodded. I walked with him back over to the master.

"Master Mitamura, this is a friend. She is an exceptionally intelligent hellhound, she will take care of you. She can't speak, but she will understand everything you say...She will bring you to the arena. Hopefully we can save your students."

"If you can't save them, you must at least stop them. For their own sakes...But I am too weak to walk..."

I laid on the ground beside him. And Kurama glanced at me with a smile.

"It will be like riding a horse. You can trust her. I promise." He nodded, and then Kurama helped him onto my back and I stood carefully. He did seem weak. Too light for a man his height, but he had a good grip on my fur. If I didn't walk too fast he would be fine.

Kurama looked at me, "Thank you." and then he and Hiei left the cave with the demon in tow. I started the long slow walk from this cave to the arena.

* * *

We walked in silence to the arena, there were times when he felt like he was off balance, so I had to shift my posture to accommodate him. I didn't really like being ridden as a _mount_ but Kurama asked me to do this, so I would deal with it. At least he was being respectful of me. This Master Mitamura seemed kind.

I managed to sneak us into the arena using a service entrance, and we made our way to one of the entrances to the arena floor, I could hear what was going on. I couldn't go out there, but I knew he needed to. I laid down and let him off of my back, I used my nose to nudge him towards the entrance.

"You want me to go out there?" I nod. "But you can't go with me?" I nod again. "Alright" I watch from the shadows as he steps out onto the grass, using the wall to help him walk towards the unfolding scene. Now that my job was done I retook my real form. I wiped the blood off of my mouth on the inside of my dress. Ugh.

"Hold on! What if I told you that their master Mitamura was still alive? But I am the only person in the world who knows where he's hidden and how to reverse his disease!"

"Moot point." Kurama says, throwing a thumb over his shoulder and toward Mitamura who was almost at the ring. He steps toward the ugly troll I was assuming was Dr. Ichagacki

"You evil man!" He calls out.

"What? But how did he get here?"

Hiei was kind enough to answer, "Your assistant was in the mood to talk...We only had to walk two miles to find him...After seeing Mitamura's symptoms Kurama was easily able to make an antidote."

"I acquired a few poisonous herbs as well on this island...care to try one, doctor?"

Yusuke seemed upset, "No need for that Kurama. You ready to die?!"

The doctor removed a syringe from his pocket and used it to transform himself into a much larger, much uglier troll. He began to attack Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama. I had no doubt they could handle this. Yusuke decided to take him on his own. He kicked the doctor three times. "That was for the three innocent lives you stole...and this one is for screwing with their master!" He punches the doctor in the face.

I looked to Kurama who was now supporting Mitamura, "Nicely put." It makes me smile.

"And this is for my friend who felt sorry for them and got his ass kicked into the ground!" Another hefty punch, and I notice Kuwabara laying on the grass.

"Thanks for the shout out, Urameshi."

"And the last one's for me. Just for pissing me off!" A beautiful uppercut to the jaw, and the doctor flies into the stands. What a beautiful speech. "Now you go think about what you've done, Doctor Ichigaki."

I look back to Kurama and Mitamura as the master talks. "It doesn't matter. Taking Dr. Ichigaki's life away is never going to bring them back...Yen. Ryo. Kai...it's all my fault, how can I ever forgive myself?" He begins to cry.

The masked fighter steps forward, "Save your tears Mitamura." It's a woman's voice. Yeah. Definitely Genkai. Aged down by using her spirit power...I have heard about that. "Your boys aren't dead. After some disbelieving noises, everyone looks to the three fighters in the ring as they began to wake up. They realize they are free, and Mitamura breaks away from Kurama to go to them.

"I never thought I'd see you!" He exclaims, but they turn away from him. They say how guilty they are for the things they have done, how they wish she had just killed them. "How can you say such things?!"

Genkai steps forward, "Your master is right, your guilt is misplaced. The technique I used is called the spirit wave. It is one of the five great attacks by trial and is powered by your own spirit energy. If your souls are corrupt, the wickedness will take your life, but if your souls are pure then that purity consumes you, destroying any outside impediments. It was your soul that destroyed the Veruca and freed you. Not me. That proves you have nothing to hide."

Mitamura steps closer to them, "Yen. Ryo. Kai. She says what I've known all along. If there was anything you could have done to prevent those kills, you would have. Your bodies were taken over, but who you really are...your souls... are still clean. I see you in the same way now as I always have...as my three most noble students. Let's put this behind us!" They turn to him crying, and it is so beautiful I think I could have cried. They rejoined happy to be together. Hugging each other. It was so touching.


	18. Dying of the Light

NOTES~~

I missed last week. So sorry. I'mma flake. So here are both.

Toodles, -Jumb

* * *

" _Do not go gentle into that good night... Rage, Rage, against the dying of the light." -Dylan Thomas_

* * *

Now that the action was over, I navigated my way through the stadium and into the seats, and I found Kuro near Keiko and Shizuru.

"Before you yell at me, I knew they had enough control to miss Kuwabara's important points. I knew he wouldn't die."

I sat down beside him. "I know you wouldn't have let your girlfriend's brother get killed."

He glared at me. "She's not my girlfriend...I don't think... I would know, right?"

"Yeah. But I think you are on your way there."

"You think she likes me?" He smirked.

"Yeah I do."

"He is hurt pretty badly though. One of us needs to heal him when we get back to the hotel." I nod. He is right...

I heard the ding ding over the loud speakers, "May I have your attention please. The third round will begin immediately"

I look at Kuro, he growls, "What the _fuck._ "

"Furthermore the tournament committee has unanimously decided to begin the round in accordance to the match diagram, starting from the left." I look to the screen, _you have got to be fucking kidding me,_ "Team Urameshi and team Masho, please report to the ring."

I see Yusuke make a beeline to Koto the announcer girl. "Hey why don't you tell your stupid friends up there to let one of the other teams fight!" She looked scared.

"I'm sorry sir, if you have a complaint, you'll have to take it up with the committee."I knew it wasn't her fault, I knew some of the people on that committee, they were worse than dirt. "I am sure there is a perfectly good reason for their decision" Yeah. Money. Always fucking money.

Team Masho entered in a fucking tornado.

Kuro scoffed, "Showoffs."

Their team captain removed his robe. Huh. Well how about that. I met the last Windmaster. Never met this one, but I heard of him.

"The motherfucking Shinobi?" Kuro whispered.

"This just keeps getting better."

Jin and Yusuke meet in the middle to discuss terms, and it looks like we are about to get started when those fucking bells chime again.

"May I have your attention, please. The tournament committee will be instituting a medical examination before the next round. Due to the Urameshi team fighting without rest and in accordance to section thirteen of the tournament index, report to the medical tent."

A pretty woman steps out of the previously unused medical tent on the floor, but she doesn't seem right.

"That's an enchantress, I highly doubt she is licensed to practice medicine."

I turn to Kuro, "This is another trick then?"

"Definitely." We watch as she hovers a hand over our team and then asks Hiei and Genkai to come with her. "Told you."

"How do you know what she is?"

"They are kinky. I know that they look like...what they smell like." She creates a forcefield detaining Genkai and Hiei. Then removes the nurses outfit and reveals herself as an enchantress, and I see the appeal.

Ding dong. "As a result of the examination, Hiei and the Masked Fighter have been ruled unfit to fight. They will sit out for the duration of the round while they are suitably treated."

"This is some fucking bullshit." I see Yusuke yelling at Koto, and Kurama trying to assure him that everything will be fine. _Don't be so fucking optimistic. The advantage is_ not _yours, Kurama. You are going to do something reckless. I know it._

Jin refuses to fight the rigged match and threatens his teammate. At least he is honest...

The body painter Gama is up first, and Kurama chooses to fight. Having been hunted by the Shinobi, I am more than aware of the nature of his abilities, though not the mentality of the user.

I lean to Kuro "What is the likelihood Kurama knows how the make-up works?"

"I really don't know. I don't seem to know quite as much about them as you do, but he _is_ smarter than I am, so...good but not great?"

"We will see."

Gama takes out his brushes. He begins to paint his face. Considering Kurama isn't even trying to stop him, it looks unlikely that Kurama is aware. Gama is trying to punch, but Kurama dodges him expertly, but he gets thrown off balance and Gama marks his leg. "Fuck!"

"That's not good, but Kurama doesn't need his limbs to win. Even if he chains all his limbs he can still win."

Gama does just that. "The chains aren't what I am worried about...That paint can do worse things, but Kurama doesn't seem to know that." Gama lunges at Kurama, but Kurama uses his rose whip wrapped around his hair to slice Gama badly. His blood goes everywhere. _That was clever._

"Only an amatuer requires arms and legs for victory."

"Don't take the credit for this, I have killed myself today by making the mistake of not sealing your energy as well." _Kill him Kurama. End it now._

"Don't waste your breath in conversation. I know with the power you are using to restrain me you could easily heal your injuries. Release me and I will let you walk away with your life."

"Goddamnit Kurama... I told you not to do this." I whispered.

"He has won. What is the harm in a little mercy?" Kuro asks. I shake my head. This is bad.

"Convincing aren't you? But the battle isn't over yet."

"Even with my arms and legs bound you are in no shape to fight me. Don't die pointlessly Gama, you're too intelligent for that."

Gama begins to swing at Kurama, he is telling him not to move. That it is pointless. _He is still trying to save him._ Gama's arms break off, and I see the blood splatter on Kurama. He doesn't know... I have to,

I stand up and scream, "Kurama! The blood!" I know he heard me, but he didn't seem to get my meaning, and he just let Gama swing at him. All the demons around us were looking. Kuro looked worried, probably because I was so scared. I sat down, my hands were shaking. "Idiot. He is going to let his own kindness get him killed."

"I don't understand Luna...what about the blood? I know it's a nice outfit and all."

I didn't even look at him. "You'll see."

Gama fell to the ground, and Koto began to count. Kurama spoke, " You were correct after all, It's wholly your fault that you die in vain. I cannot pity you."

I was so mad at Kurama. I showed him his weakness. I tried to tell him. He was blinded by his compassion. I knew it.

"The death is yours." Gama spoke. "You should have listened to whoever yelled for you...You never asked what gave my makeup its power...what made it different from the makeup of those other human fools...The difference is the main ingredient, Kurama. It's made of my blood...I have given you the makeup of the seal. It's what I should have done from the start. I sealed your spirit energy. Your entire power trapped inside your body. Even as I fade it will live on. I've secured victory for my Shinobi Sect. And I die knowing it is not in vain."

As Gama spoke I felt Kuro grab my hand and squeeze. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't think. I had seen one of the last members of my pack make a similar mistake to the painter before Gama... he got trapped with the blood, and was finished off by the windmaster. I was able to escape because he died...I thought Kurama was smarter...

"Luna."

I stared blankly as the Ice Master stepped into the ring, hoping to avenge his friend. I can relate...I feared what was about to happen, knowing there was nothing I could do that wouldn't get all of us killed. Kurama was trying to stall Touya to give himself time for the curses to wear off. Not a bad plan. Wasn't going to be enough though...

Kuro grabbed my face and made me look at him. "Listen to me. Kurama will think his way out of this..." He reaches into his pocket and holds up his pendant. "Worst case scenario, we have to kill this entire stadium of demons and Kurama joins us and makes our trio a quartet...alright? I'll gather our friends and keep him alive while you take out all this pain on the demons and that piece of shit Tournament Committee." I just nodded.

His arms and legs were mobile again, allowing Kurama to dodge the shards of winter. But not all of them, there were too many. The little ice pellets cut into him, and I could smell his blood from here. I was getting far too used to the scent of his blood. He falls to the ground, and i can hear Yusuke telling him to stay down, but I know Kurama better than that. He won't back down. He would rather die. That is the problem. His first mistake was compassion for the enemy. His second was his stubbornness.

I see him rubbing his blood on his chest. He is smart enough to know that will not disengage the seal...He is desperate. He tries to use the energy in his blood to use his whip, but it was not enough.

I continued to watch Kurama be pelted by ice. I hated seeing him in pain. I hated this. He was making sure the ice didn't hit anything vital, but Touya would catch on soon...

Listening to them talk about new lives was cathartic. He needed to stop relating to his opponent. That is precisely why I am probably about to watch the second man I ever loved die right in front of me, just like the last.

He formed a sword of ice on his arm. Kurama dodged his attacks, moving fluidly. Until he didn't and Touya sliced his arm open. The smell of blood..."Let me do what I must, Yusuke."

He held his wound with his other hand. A look of determination on his face.

"I know that look" Kuro spoke, "He is about to do something reckless, and looking at the circumstances, I know what that reckless thing will be."

"What?" I was almost scared to ask.

"His energy is _inside_ his body." Kuro knew that was enough for me to realize. He was going to sew the death plant inside himself with his energy, and direct its growth outward at Touya.

"Can he survive that?"

"Maybe. But he will need to remove it quickly. After it is over."

He touched his wound and I heard him scream in pain. _There was the seed..._ Then he began to run. Touya launched in for the kill with his sword of ice, and the vines of Kurama's death plant came out of his own arms, blocking Touya's sword and stabbing through his chest. _Oh thank God._

I heard them talking. Kurama explaining his victory. His voice was pained. It made my heart hurt. I hoped Kurama could get the plant out...I hoped I didn't just watch him kill himself...Touya tried to get up before the ten count, but he could not...It was over.

"You have won the match, I admit. Please, kill me."

"I will not. You never answered. What do you plan to do with this island if you get it?"

"Who cares?!"

"I too have spent years in shadow. Interesting how unexpected regret can appear. That's what this light does. I only wanted to know if... you could make your life better...nobler...than mine has been..." He closed his eyes and his arms went limp at his sides and my heart stopped. I heard Yusuke yell for him. I could only stare. No...I could still feel him...he wasn't dead.

Koto stepped towards him and held her ear to his chest. "Wait people, Kurama still has a faint heartbeat. It appears he has slipped into unconsciousness while still on his feet." I knew he wasn't dead but hearing it gave me some relief, and i released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I felt Kuro grip my hand.

Yusuke was telling Koto the rest of the fights were his, and I was preparing to go down to the floor under invisibility and do whatever I could to heal him. But then the tall one. The one who smelled of old sweat stepped into the ring. "Not so fast...you forgot something. He's standing in the ring... Yes. it looks to me like he is volunteering to fight again."

"Oh gimme a break, Kurama's not even conscious anymore! I'm taking this fight!"

Koto looked between the two of them, "Uh, Alright, team captain decides! Yusuke vs. Bakken!" Good girl. I would hate to have to kill you.

Then the speaker came to life again, "Correction: The next fight will be Kurama vs. Bakken. A fighter standing in the ring cannot be removed against his will. As will cannot be determined here, the fighter remains." Kuro and I grip each others hands, his claws dig into me, and mine into him.

Bakken picks up Koto by the back of her shirt. "Looks like you're not needed anymore kitten." He throws her from the ring. He faces Kurama "Now that the ref is out of the picture, we can really have some fun!" He punches Kurama in the face and he flies across the ring...Kuro wisely removes his hand from mine and I clench my fists... _I will fucking rip him apart._ "You look so peaceful with your little flowers." He kicks Kurama and he rolls across the ground. I am only vaguely aware that blood from both my palms is dripping onto the seating. I know what I have to do. I am not willing to live in a world without him in it. I will do what I have to do.

Koto tries to bring honor back to this fight "Kurama is definitely down. Bakken, step away so I can start the count!"

"You again?" He looks to her.

"I'm just going to do my job, okay!"

"You must think you are a comedian. Nobody humiliates my sect and gets to slip away with a ten count." He lifts Kurama up before she can reach ten, and I get up. Kuro looks at me.

"I am going to do what I have to do. After I am gone, you are going to have to go invisible and go down there and heal him for me, so don't you dare try to waste your energy saving me." He stared at me in shock. "I love you Kuronue. When Kurama wakes up, tell him I love him too, and I regret never saying it. Watch after Keiko for me. Make sure Teri doesn't fuck up my empire."

I use my energy to cloak myself, and make my way as close to the ring as possible. I block Kuro from my mind. I stand at the edge of the stands where I can keep eye contact with Bakken, and then I reach out to Yusuke.

"Yusuke. This is Luna. I know you have heard of me. I am ending this, but I need you to make it seem real."

I see his reaction as he looks around, and he nods. "I am going to control Kurama and make it look like he wakes up just long enough to put a seed in Bakken. I need you to act like you knew he could do that. Tell him that he is going to _burn._ " I see him nod.

Controlling thoughts is easy. Controlling a body is difficult. Controlling a body while the mind is unconscious...That is what will hurt.

"Oh look, he's on his feet again. I guess that means he wants more!" He is holding Kurama in the air. I take control of Kurama's body. I feel my nose bleeding. His arms are so heavy... I lift it enough to grab Bakken's arm and dig his fingers into the skin." I feel my ears bleeding too...He throws Kurama to the ground, and I hear Yusuke laugh.

Bakken turns to look at him, "What is funny?"

"Kurama woke up just long enough to make sure that you _burn._ " Good job Yusuke. I dig into Bakkens brain, and convince him that is skin is burning. He begins to scream. I permanently etch his pain receptors so that even after I die, that burning sensation will remain for the rest of his miserable life. His screaming continues. Koto begins her ten count on Kurama. I intensify the pain Bakken is feeling. He looks at his arms, and I suggest that the skin is the problem. He believes me. I watch through the blood in my eyes as he begins to scratch off his own skin.

"If you try to leave the ring, or kneel. I will make it _worse."_ I speak in his mind.

"IT BURNS! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" He screams.

I think back to Yusuke as my vision begins to blur and I can feel myself fading, "He can't leave the ring. Do to him what he did to Kurama..."

I didn't notice his reply because my vision went dark as Koto counted to ten on Kurama.

* * *

 **Kuronue**

I felt her rage growing. I have never felt her this angry. She was going to snap soon. But what would she do? Just before the count of ten Bakken picks up Kurama, and I felt the snap as she stood up. I look at her. It's no longer rage, but acceptance. That's even scarier.

"I am going to do what I have to do. After I am gone, you are going to have to go invisible and go down there and heal him for me, so don't you dare try to waste your energy saving me." She was going to push herself past the edge. Use all of her energy to save Kurama from Bakken without obviously breaking the rules. "I love you Kuronue. When Kurama wakes up, tell him I love him too, and I regret never saying it. Watch after Keiko for me. Make sure Teri doesn't fuck up my empire." During the five seconds she froze me, She went invisible and left. Blocking me from her mind. _Fuuuucckk._ I had one chance to save her life. I didn't know if it would work but I have to try.

 _Three seconds_. "Shizuru!" I feel her shock, "I need you to take Keiko right now, and head into the hallway and wait for me!"

"But why-"

"Please just do it!" I feel the acknowledgement.

 _One second_ , I see her stand and grab Keiko. _Good._

I can move. I get up, make myself invisible and begin looking for her, flying low above the stands. I hear the shock of the patrons, and I see Kurama appear to wake up and put something in Bakkens arm. Bakken throws him to the ground. The ten count begins. I hear Yusuke talking, but I don't really hear what he is saying.

I catch the scent of Luna's blood on the wind. She is close. I fly silently over the stands, trying to follow her scent, I hear Bakken's blood curdling screaming. I look to the ring and see him frantically ripping the skin from his arms, and throwing the bloody bits of mangled flesh onto the ring.

I finally located the source of the scent, I found her just as she de-cloaked and fell to the ground. I caught her in my arms and extended my cloak to cover her as well. I flew as fast as I could to Keiko and Shizuru, and once we were in the hall and I saw them standing there worried, I decloaked.

I looked down at Luna as I laid her on the ground. I couldn't even see her face there was so much blood. I didn't even know that the eyes bled too, I had never gone that close to the edge. Keiko and Shizuru rushed to us.

"Oh my god, Luna!" Keiko screamed,

I look at Keiko, "I need your help! Give me your hand, I am going to take some of your energy to save her life. I need you to pull away when you start to feel really tired, okay?" She nodded and put her hand in mine, and I put my hand on Luna's blood covered face.

I could feel Luna coming back, she wasn't dead... Keiko pulled away, and leaned back against the wall, she still seemed incredibly scared. Without me even having to tell her, Shizuru placed her hand in mine. A few moments later, Luna breathed. She was alive. She was going to be alright.

"Shizuru, you aren't tired yet, right?" I help move Luna's body into Keiko's arms.

"Right. What do you need?" She was worried, but not scared. She wanted to help.  
"She is going to wake up in a second, and she will need to take some more energy from you directly. Don't take no for an answer, okay? _Make her take it._ If I don't go save Kurama, she will kill me." She nodded, and I re-cloaked and headed down onto the floor.

Yusuke was carrying Kurama out of the ring, he gently placed him on the ground, leaning him up against the ring for support, and stepped into the ring himself. Bakken was still screaming and ripping off his own skin. I could see his bones in some places. But he was still standing in the ring. _She really fucked him up. I will have to tell her this is some of her best work yet._

I heard the announcer girl Koto, "Since Bakken is still standing in the ring, Next match, Yusuke vs. Bakken!"

Yusuke has more self control than I would have. I would have just stood there until he bled to death, more painful that way. But I think Yusuke wanted a bit of his own revenge anyway. I moved over to Kurama, careful not to alert anyone to my presence as I began to use my energy to pull the death plant out of his body.

During my time with him, I had pulled many of these from the bodies of our enemies, but never a live one. This would be difficult. I had to focus. I was careful not to move him so much as to attract attention, With the fight going on, nobody would notice a plant pulling itself out of Kurama, I got most of it out, the parts that ran through his torso were gone. I left many of the ones in his arms because they weren't quite so dangerous, and if I removed all of it, it would look quite suspicious. Once most of it was done, I began to use my powers to heal him. He began to wake up about the time my nose began to bleed.

"There you are..." I spoke quietly. "I am invisible right now. Ask your questions without being obvious."

He blinked slowly. Angling his face downward to hide his mouth, "What happened? I remember defeating Touya..."

"You fell unconscious while still on your feet. Then Bakken of Team Masho took it as an opportunity to beat up your unconscious body, intending to kill you. Obviously Luna didn't appreciate that. I don't know exactly what she did, but I can tell you what I saw, she controlled your body to make it look like you had put a seed into his arm that made him feel like he was burning alive...she asked Yusuke to back up the lie, and he did... She used a lot of her energy, Kurama. She intended to die" He looked terrified, so I answered the question he really wanted to ask, "She is alive...barely." I finally heard Bakken's screaming stop, and I heard the ten count begin. "Sounds like Yusuke finally finished with him. She somehow forced him to stay in the ring, so Yusuke was able to return the favor...how are you feeling?"

"Better...did you remove the plant?"

"Most of it. I left the pieces in your arms, I didn't want it to be too obvious."

"Thank you, Kuro..."

"Don't thank me. Thank Luna. She gave me her death speech and everything...you owe her when she finally wakes up."

"I know..."

"If you are feeling better, I am going to try to go heal Kuwabara some."

"That would be wise, I think. Something tells me he may have to fight this round."

"I got that feeling too, everything else has gone wrong this round. Why not that?"

He scoffed, and I silently moved to stand behind Botan. "Don't freak out."

She jumped and screamed a little, and Kuwabara began to look around, "Who is that?"

"Botan. It's Kuro. I need you to make it _Not_ obvious I am here, alright?"

She looked at Kuwabara, "Oh I see." She winked at him.

"I am going to heal you some, Kuwabara. I'll touch you, but don't acknowledge me, alright?"

He nodded lightly, and I began to heal him until I could feel my ears begin to bleed. We couldn't both almost kill ourselves just in case something bad happens.

He sat up, "I feel much better now. Thank you."

"You are welcome."

I flew away as silently as I could, back to the hallway where Luna, Keiko and Shizuru were.

When I made it there I dropped my cloaking and took a much needed breath. Shizuru looked at me, "She woke up for a minute. After some arguing she took some of my energy. I told her Kurama was alright. I didn't lie did I?"

"No, you didn't. He is fine." I sat in the hall next to her. Keiko was using a handkerchief to wipe the blood off of Luna's face.

"She told me to tell you that you are a fucking idiot who can't take orders, and then she fell asleep"

"Yeah. I figured she would say something like that. How are you two?"

Keiko looked at me with a tired smile. "I feel like it is way past my bedtime, but it was worth it right?"

Shizuru nodded, "Yeah, I am pretty tired, but I'll live."

"You two should go back to your seats and cheer on Yusuke. I will stay here with her...Shizuru, let me know if anything goes wrong, okay?"

She smiled at me, and then she grabbed my hand. "You did good, Kuro. You saved both your best friends."

"Thank you, Shizuru." She stood up, and I pulled Luna from Keiko's lap onto mine. Keiko stood up too, and the two of them re-entered the stadium.

I sat there cradling the sleeping Luna in my arms as I listened to the sounds and narration of Koto as she describe Yusuke's fight with Jin. After a while, I heard that Yusuke won. Good. Moments later, Shizuru and Keiko came back into the hallway, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just gotta take a piss break." Shizuru smirked at me. Keiko just gave me a quick nod, and they disappeared down the hall,

"Be careful!" I called after them. Crazy bitches...

I heard the bullshit double loss call against Yusuke. Rich human business men don't know a damn thing about honor...I felt Luna move as she woke up.

"...the fuck is going on?"

"The committee ruled Yusuke ineligible to fight. They have nobody left."

"Fuck!" She stood up, stumbling. "Let's go!"

"You can barely walk!"

"Then help me." She looked at me with determination. Fine. I wrapped my arm under her hers and helped her walk back out into the stadium so she could see what was going on.

Hiei was powering up and ripping the cords off the enchantress. Suddenly everyone was on his side. _Priorities._

Keiko ran past us in a hurry, "Sorry. Gotta grab Botan!" She yelled as she ran by, and then moments later, her and Botan ran back through. Kuwabara was trying to make his way to the ring, being honorable was going to get him killed... Luna was leaning against me as we stood in the doorway. I could see she was looking at Kurama.

* * *

 **Luna**

He was alive...and so was I. Kuro enlisted our friends and saved my life, despite the fact I explicitly told him not to...I guess I can forgive him for that though. He did still go down there and heal Kurama like he promised... but now Kuwabara was going to go and get himself killed.

He was fighting his pain to walk to the middle of the ring. It was inspiring. He even made the first charge, only to realize he couldn't maintain his spirit sword when he was this low on energy. Risho countered with a swift kick to his back. Risho continued to pummel the hell out of Kuwabara, it was hard to watch. Kuro tensed up. "The girls are having problems with security I will be right back." He let go of me and ran off down the hall, I leaned against the wall for support.

Risho continued to hand out his beatings and then hopped from the ring to put on his earth armor. _Great..._ He jumped into the air and crashed into Kuwabara like a meteor...cause apparently he needed to prove he could make this even _more_ one-sided.

* * *

 **Kuronue**

I saw the girls and what seemed like an ice apparition being detained by security, The demons turned to look at me, "You are going to let them go." I warned.

The girls turned around at the sound of my voice. Shizuru smirked at me. One of the security guards spoke, "And why would we want to do that?"

I really didn't want to do this, but my physical powers were better than my telepathic ones when I was low on energy. I grabbed the scythe from underneath my wings and began to let it sway back and forth from my hands. "Because I have had a really fucked up day, and frankly it would be far easier to just kill the four of you than try to explain myself..." The ice apparition looked scared. She didn't know not to fear me. I began to walk towards them."I know you sense that you are no match for me, so just run back to your posts and forget about these girls. Do I make myself clear?" I spoke with a growl. One of them ran off immediately, and the other three followed soon after. I put my scythe back under my wings,

Botan spoke first, "Oh Kuro, that was amazing! I had no idea you could be so terrifying!"

"Uh, thank you? I think?"

The ice apparition looked at her, "Wait, we know him?"

Shizuru smiled at me, then at her, "Yeah. He is a friend."

On the screen in front of us Kuwabara took a pretty nasty hit. "Kazuma!" The girl screamed and then ran towards the stadium seating, and everyone else seemed to follow her, _Who the hell is Kazuma?_

* * *

 **Luna**

I heard footsteps behind me and I turn to see...Yukina? Followed by Botan, Keiko and Shizuru, and Kuro pulling up the end. Yukina and the others ran straight down the aisle to be as close to the arena floor as they could. Kuro stayed beside me, however. "Do we know that girl?"

"That is Yukina. Kuwabara's girlfriend and Hiei's twin sister."

"I thought Kuwabara and Hiei hated each other?" He squeezes himself between me and the wall so that I am leaning against him once again.

"They do. The sister thing is kind of a secret. Kuwabara doesn't know."

"Who is Kazuma?"  
"Oh, that is Kuwabara's first name. Nobody uses it but Shizuru and Yukina."

"I hate names..."

On the arena floor Kuwabara was planning to sacrifice his life for the good of the team, and appeared to be saying his goodbyes. I was too weak to stand on my own...much less help him. He was in the process of catching Risho's meteor attack when I heard Yukina call to him. Then suddenly Kuwabara was able to stop Risho's momentum.

"I am not babbling, She is my girlfriend!" Then he smacked Risho out of the ring.

Kuro laughed, "Well, I'll be damned." When Kuwabara ran from the ring to go talk to Yukina, He laughed even harder. "I don't get humans."

"Nobody gets _him_ "

Risho stacked another layer of armor on himself and tried another meteor, but Kuwabara was able to generate his spirit sword this time. He quickly sliced away Risho's armor and threw him into the stands. I could feel the rumble of Kuro's laughter, and Kuwabara returned to the ring right before the count of ten...

"They won..." I spoke. Kuro hugged me.

"They did. Are you going to go down there and see Kurama now?"

"I can't, remember?"

"Oh, why not just tell them all the truth? They will understand. Keiko likes Luna."

"No, Kuro."

"Alright, should we make our escape then?" He steadied me as we began to turn around to head out the door when we were stopped by Botan's angry voice.

"Kuro and Luna! Where do you think you two are going?!" She seemed pissed.

"Yeah! Get down here with the rest of us!" Keiko seemed more excited than angry, and we turned back to see the girls standing with the boys down on the grass, and all of them staring at us.

Kuro looks down at me, "So much for escaping..."

I hold onto him to keep myself upright as we slowly head down the stairs. He tries to hold onto me as he lowers me down the barrier, but I lost my balance and stumbled down, but someone steadied me before I hit the ground. The intense tingling told me it was Kurama. I turned to make eye contact with him, I was sure we both looked like hell, but the way he was looking at me was beautiful, then suddenly his lips were on mine, and I closed my eyes and enjoyed it before a _very_ angry Botan voice reminded me where we were. _Oh Fuck._

"KURAMA! You have a girlfriend waiting for you back home! Tsuki will be crushed!" She sounded pissed. I cautiously turned to see several shocked faces, Keiko was holding her hands over her mouth, but as we made eye contact, I think she realized the truth.

"No she won't be...because Tsuki isn't real..." Botan looked at her,

"What do you mean Tsuki isn't real?! Of _course_ she is _real!_ "

"You pretended to be a human for all this time to protect me?" There were tears in her eyes. I felt Kurama let me go and step away from me, and I nodded. Then Keiko ran at me, pulling me into a tight hug that almost knocked me to the ground. "I am mad that you lied. We can talk about that later. But you are still my best friend!" She squeezed me tighter, and I squeezed her back with what energy I had. I glanced around at this hodge-podge group of friends that now all knew the truth.

Kuro was the first to begin to laugh, "Well, that is one way to tell everyone the truth, great job Kurama!"

Kurama shrugged and scratched his head "Well I uh-"

Yusuke laughed too, "It's okay Kurama, we all knew you weren't thinking with your head."

Botan clapped, "Okay...This has been fun... I think we all have a lot to think about right now as well as a lot of recovering to do. So everyone that can walk, grab someone who can't and let's take this show back to the hotel!"


	19. Connection

NOTES:

Reminder that this story is rated M for a reason.

* * *

*" _This time when we kiss, I feel it in the pit of my stomach, I feel it in my heart. And I realize love isn't about sex. It's about connection." ― Ellen Hopkins*_

* * *

When we got back to the hotel, all of us gathered in the boys room, we brought over some chairs from the other room so we could fit everybody. I wouldn't be back to normal until I slept a while, I felt guilty for not being able to help Kurama, but he actually seemed to be in better shape than I was energywise. I guess Kuro helped him quite a bit.

I sat beside him on the couch while he gently worked the rest of the death plant from his arms.

Yusuke looked at me, "So...Luna... I gotta know...what the _hell_ did you do to Bakken?" There were a lot of confused faces around the room, and Yusuke seemed to realize he knew more of the plan than most. "Oh, I forgot to tell you all, Kurama never actually woke up in his fight with Bakken, Luna possessed him somehow and asked me to play along so it looked real."

Kuwabara looked relieved, "So Kurama doesn't actually have a plant that burns your insides?"

Kurama laughed, "No Kuwabara, if I had a plant that useful, don't you think I would have used it before?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" I laugh,

"Well, yeah," Yusuke responds like it was obvious.

"I _may_ have tweaked the pain receptors in his brain to permanently feel like he was on fire...I also may have made the suggestion that the removal of his skin would help."

"Holy shit!" Yusuke leans forward.

Shizuru laughs and takes a drag from her cigarette, "I think you bring new meaning to the term 'over-protective girlfriend.'"

The group continued to talk for a while. Asking questions about me and seeking clarification on details. They seemed to all understand my reasons for hiding though. Kuwabara and Yukina left for some alone time, and so did Yusuke and Keiko. Botan wanted to snoop so she followed them, and Genkai and Hiei retired to their rooms as well, they seemed to have no interest whatsoever in the chitchat.

Shizuru looked at Kurama and I, He had completely removed the plants but he was still very weak. I wasn't in any better shape. "Aren't you two going to disappear for alone time as well?"

"I am not moving from this couch until someone carries me to bed... I tried to die today, and failed. I am tired." I joked,

"Is that an invitation?" Kurama spoke casually beside me, and I was shocked to hear such words from him in public.

"Oh _Shit!_ " Shizuru exclaims, "That was fucking smooth!"

Kuro laughs, shaking his head. "We should leave though...Everyone needs their rest for tomorrow."

Shizuru nods, and they both stand up, and I start to stand with them, but Kurama grabs my wrist. I turn back to him, "Would you like to stay?"

"Yeah..." I turn to the others, "I'll see you tomorrow okay?" They nod and head out the door. Kurama stood and extended his hand for me, and we both retreated to his bedroom.

"I wanted to talk to you..." He said it like I didn't already know. "I heard you when I was fighting Gama... I should have listened. I am sorry...Kuronue told me that you were willing to give your life to save mine. You have no idea how much that means to me... but I don't want you to-"

"Kurama. Shush. It's the past. We can move on now." I smiled at him, and he tilted his head.

"There is blood on your dress." He pointed at me.

"You are one to talk. That can hardly be considered clothing anymore." I pointed at his ripped, blood covered rags. Fragments of Gama's paint still remains.

"Alright." He spoke so calmly, but then he slid off his shirt and let it fall to the floor. My eyes widened and he grinned. His pants came after, leaving only his underwear. My breath hitched.

He stepped behind me and I could feel the warmth radiating off of him, He lifted my hair and pulled down the zipper of my dress. It fell to the floor with a thump, leaving me in only my underwear as well. "We don't want to get blood on my sheets."

"Of course not." I stuttered. He still hadn't dropped my hair, and I realized why when I felt his lips touch my neck. I felt my knees begin to buckle, but he wrapped his less-injured right arm around my waist to hold me up.

I felt his lips kiss their way up my neck and then jumping to hover outside my ear, "It would not be wise for either of us to do anything _extraneous_ tonight. I thought we could just enjoy each other's company."

I turn around in his arms and wrap mine around his neck, pressing my body against his and my face in his neck. "I thought I was going to watch you die today..."

He rubs my back gently, sighing into my hair, "But you didn't."

I pulled away enough to look at him, "I love you, Kurama... you don't have to say it back but I just-"

He moved his hand to my face, "I love you too, Luna...that's...not something I have ever said before...Honestly, I didn't think I ever would."

"My true name is Luella...that's the truest display of trust I can give you..."

He smiles tenderly, "I love you, Luella." He presses his lips to my paralyzed ones and laughs. "I thought that might happen..." after a few seconds, I laugh too.

He steps to the bed and pulls back the covers, crawling underneath. He holds the blankets up so that I can join him and I oblige. He puts his arm around me and I curl up against him with my head on his chest and my arm across his waist. "Don't be stupid anymore, Kurama."

I feel his laugh more than hear it, "I'll try. I'll say the same to you. No more attempts at self-sacrifice for me."

"I make no promises."

"I know..." He runs his fingers through my hair and I think we are both asleep in minutes.

* * *

I wake up after what I feel like has been just a couple of hours. My head rises and falls with Kurama's breathing, and I can feel his heartbeat through my skin. We haven't moved the entire time I have slept.

I think I have grown used to the tingling feeling of our contact. It feels wonderful, but it's nothing out of the ordinary any more, it's just a part of our relationship. I just love being near him. I notice all of the injuries still on his body, and since I really don't want to move from this spot, I do something useful and begin to dump my renewed energy into healing him. He is still fast asleep, and I am careful not to move and wake him up. Once I begin to near the point of a nosebleed, I can tell that he is mostly healed. Good...and now I am tired enough to sleep some more...

* * *

 **Kuronue**

When everyone returns, they know to go to the girls room to be social. Eventually Shizuru and I are joined by the returning couples as well as Botan and Yusuke's adorable Spirit Beast. Kuwabara of course makes fun of it, and Yusuke hits him. He crawls to Yukina,

"Oh Yukina, won't you please heal Kuwabara's itty-bitty boo-boo and make it feel all better?

Shizuru smacks the hell out of him and I laugh, "Give it a rest for one minute, lover boy"

The girls all end up playing with the little blue penguin, and I have never been fond of the cute and furry, so I migrate towards the window with Kuwabara and Yusuke. "As if he couldn't get any more girly!" Yusuke seems mad that his inner self is so adorable, and with his tough guy act, I hardly blame him.

"So did you hear that the semi-finals aren't until the day after tomorrow?"

"Yeah I heard alright. The committee made us fight two rounds in a row just cause they wanted us wiped out. They are just like everyone else in charge."

"Puu!" the little guy flies over to perch on Yusuke's head, and I make room beside him for Keiko,

"You know, when you are next to each other, you two kind of look alike. He's even got your hair."

"I'll say the little booger's got my hair. He's got it right between his retarded claws and he ain't letting go. He better not leave me any Spirit Surprises..."

Shizuru comes to stand beside me, and I take a risk and put my arm around her. She leans into me. I love when risks work out.

Kuwabara looks between me and his sister, "What is going on here?"

"None of your business baby bro." Shizuru glares at him.

Keiko looks at me, "Oh, I almost forgot, where is Luna? I wanted to talk to her about stuff and make sure she is okay."

Shizuru starts giggling, "She went to bed early..."

Keiko tilts her head, "Why is that funny?"

I grin, "Because she went with Kurama."

"Oh. _Oh._ " Keiko blushes and everyone laughs.

Botan looks at her watch, "Oh how'd it get so late?"

Shizuru answers first, "Time flies when you're mocking Yusuke mercilessly."

Yusuke hops from the window, "Yeah yeah, we're going. You're all a buncha assholes" Yusuke and Kuwabara retreat back to their own suite, and each of us retire to our separate rooms.

I throw myself down face first on the bed and stretch my wings out, _What a day..._

* * *

 **Luna**

The bright side of being an incredibly light sleeper is I could tell from the change in Kurama's breathing exactly when he began to wake up. The sun was coming up outside the window. "Good morning" He spoke softly, he still sounded a bit sleepy. He must have looked as his arm, "You healed me during the night didn't you?"

I lift my head and look at him, "I did. I don't sleep much, so my energy was fully returned after two hours. I spent a lot of it healing you and then chose to keep sleeping."

"Thank you. I feel much better." He glances over to the clock on the bedside table. "The match that determines our next opponent isn't until four hours from now."

"Yeah, the sun just came up, most people don't wake up until at least two hours from now." I roll over, rubbing my eyes and scratching my ears, I haven't slept an entire night in centuries. "I think that was the best sleep I have ever had."

He laughs, "Same here. I have never slept with anyone before...I never trusted my partners not to kill me in my sleep and take my treasures."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I slept with your comatose body for several days, does that count?"

He laughed and pulled me to him, "No. Most people would find that weird."

"Do you?"

"I find it endearing."

"Perhaps that makes you weird."

"Perhaps it does." He begins to caress my ear. "I have been working under the assumption that the things that are nice for a fox are also nice for a wolf, please tell me if that is not the case."

"Everything you do is nice, Kurama" He pinches that pleasure point and I moan quietly into his chest.

"Some things are nicer than others..." He trails his fingers lightly down my arm and I shiver, "I must point out that the observations I made last night no longer apply, and that we do not have to leave this bed for another three hours. We can spend those three hours doing whatever you like."

I lift myself to look at his face, he is grinning. "Kurama, are you coming onto me?"

"Considering that we are in a committed relationship, and we spent last night sleeping together, I hardly think that phrase applies...Propositioning without pressure is more accurate."

"Oh is that right?"

"I am a very patient man, Luna. I am content to wait as long as you wish to."

"And what about you? When do you want to?"

He cocked a brow, "Do you want honesty?"

"Of course."

"I have resisted the urge to take you every time I saw you, since the first time my lips met your skin. But because I love and respect you, I am waiting until you decide you are ready without your brain being clouded by hormones and instincts."

"Do you think it will be different?"

"In a human body, or with you?"

"Both?"

"I think the differences between my demon body and my human one shouldn't be too drastic. I think the hardest part will be when instinct tells me to entwine our tails and I realize I don't have one."

"Does that mean the same thing to you as it does to me?"

"I am sure. We have already announced our feelings and commitment in the human way. I want to do it in the demon way as well..." He grabs my hand and entwines our fingers. "As for sex with you in particular? There is no doubt in my mind that will be different."

"You know that for sure?"

"Luna...That first time we kissed in your kitchen was _far_ more intense than any sex I have ever had. Period. I don't know if it is the connection we share, or the feelings I have, but I suspect that it is both."

"What if I disappoint...?"

"There is absolutely no chance of that. Every second spent with you is better than anything else I have ever known."

There is a moment of contented silence before I speak again, "When we kiss, do you look at the memories?"

"Not really. I notice they are there, but your past is your past and I want to be in the moment with you...do you?"

"No, I feel the same way."

Another silence. "Does it bother you that I don't know whether I am a human or a demon?"

"No...I love that you are both. I meant that."

"Whichever part of me I choose to embrace, you'll be happy with that?"

"I don't see why you have to choose a side...I hate the idea demons seem to have that life is humans vs. demons. It shouldn't be like that. You should be able to be both...You _are_ both. But...if you did choose, I would love you either way."

"Thank you..."

I wait a few moments before I speak, "Kurama?"

"Yes?"

"I want you."

"Are you sure? There is no going back..."

"Why would I want to go back?"

"I...want to go slow. This isn't about release for me...I want to make love...not..."

"Fuck?"

"Right..."

"I want the same thing."

He smiles as he moves so that his face is hovering above mine, his hair falling around us. "Be wary of your claws and teeth. I am not looking forward to explaining to my teammates why I have different wounds than the ones I went to bed with."

I laugh, "I'll do my best."

He leans down and his lips meet mine, moving slowly. His tongue slowly dances with mine but he knows how to avoid my fangs. In a moment he has moved so that his body is hovering over mine. He seems to be supporting his his weight with an elbow beside my head and knees between my legs. I feel his right hand snake around my body and under me, and with one swift flick of his wrist, my bra is unhooked. _It takes me twice as long to put it on when it's in front of me._

He pulls the fabric away slowly tossing it into the room somewhere. He pulls away and sits back, observing me. I have never been one to be self-conscious, but his gaze _was_ piercing. He gently puts his hands on my hips and begins to feel his way up my body slowly. "You _are_ beautiful." He cups the underside of my breasts before brushing over them, "I love you in all your forms.." He cups my left breast in his right hand brushing the nipple with his thumb, and begins to lower his face towards the other, "But your true form is by far my favorite..." he closes his lips around my nipple, flicking the bud with his tongue and I have to suppress a moan as I arch my back into him.

He gazes up my body to meet my eyes, his mouth is otherwise occupied, but I can see the smile in his eyes. After a moment he pulls back, dragging his hands back down the way they came. When he reaches my hips he hooks his fingers under the fabric of my panties, he never breaks eye contact, and he pauses, waiting for permission. I lift my hips in answer and he slides them down my thighs, and I pull my legs up so that he can remove them from me without leaving his spot. He tosses them into the room and grabs my thighs to wrap them around his hips once again. It was much more forceful than anything he has done thus far and I feel him grind into me, I can feel his want through his own underwear. He closes his eyes. "Your smell is intoxicating."

He crawls back up my body and presses his lips to mine once again though much more heated this time, and I have read enough literotica to know what I need to do. I hook my toes in the seam of his underwear on either side, and he moves his hips to encourage me to continue. I can feel him smirking into my mouth as I slide the fabric down his thighs. He distracts me with a hand on my breast, but I feel enough movement to know that he has gotten them from his knees and kicked them away into the room somewhere.

I feel his hand moving south and I feel him brush over me, I feel his palm applying pressure to my clit as he gently pushes a finger inside. I moan into his mouth. He pumps in and out a couple of times before inserting another finger. I feel his cock against my thigh and the anticipation is killer.

He leans back again, removing his hand from me, and using my wetness to stroke himself. It was an unbelievably sexy sight, and I momentarily forgot how to breath. He guides himself so that the head is positioned at my entrance, and carefully moves so that he is hovering over me once again. "You are very tight. To tell you this won't hurt a bit would be a lie, but I know you have felt much worse pain. The best way to do it is hard and fast, I want this to be as painless for you as possible." He speaks softly, staring into my eyes. I smile and nod, giving him the go-ahead. He brings his hand to the back of my neck and raises my face to kiss me passionately before I feel him thrust inside me.

Honestly, I barely noticed any pain because the sensation from this was indescribable. The intensity of the buzzing between us had reached a new high. Both of us moaned, probably very loudly. I really don't know. I couldn't find a reason to care. The rest of the team could go fuck themselves. He pulls away to make eye contact. He is breathing heavily, I find my words, "Does it always feel like that?" The pressure and tingling from him deep inside me was overwhelming.

"No. This is new... I've never felt anything this intense." He breathed heavily, I felt him start to pull out, and the motion only made it more intense, if that was even possible. When he pushed back into me slowly he pressed his lips to mine to stifle my moan. I could feel his body shaking. Or was that mine? Or both? Who gives a fuck...

He thrust in and out slowly at first, then increasing the pace. I could feel my orgasm building. Our foreheads were together, watching each other as each thrust made the both of us release low breathy moans. I could feel myself getting close. I risked using my right hand to gently hold his cheek, "Kurama...I love you." I spoke through my heavy breaths. I was so close. His thrusts were becoming erratic. I knew he was too. I returned my hand safely to its resting position beside me. I won't risk hurting him. Not now. He mirrored my actions, cupping my cheek in his hand, "I love you, Luna." He pressed his mouth to mine hard and began to thrust harder. I felt my orgasm rip through me as I came harder than I ever have. I gripped the sheets to keep from cutting Kurama, and as I clenched around him, I felt him follow me. Shaky erratic thrusts as he gripped the back of my neck as if holding on for dear life. Our moans were loud even contained in our joined mouths. I don't know how loud they would have been if they weren't.

He slowed to a stop. We were coming down. He released me from the kiss, resting his forehead on mine and looking into my eyes as his body shook. His hair was damp with sweat as it curtained around us. He smiled at me with such love. He pulled out of me slowly and then rolled off. Landing on his back beside me with a heavy breath. He pulled my body into his, and we held each other in a sweaty, heavy breathing tangle of limbs.

He swallowed hard and then spoke, "That was...the most incredible thing...I have ever felt..."

I smiled at him, "Ditto."

He laughed, "After all of that, all you have to say is 'ditto'"?

"I think we should be thankful I could even say that. Words don't do it justice."

"I knew it would be amazing with you, but I don't think I could have predicted _how_ amazing." He stroked my hair and massaged my ears.

"Next time I will file my claws so that I can participate more and your bedsheets don't suffer the consequences." He looked at the sheets for was apparently the first time, noticing the shreds where my hands were.

"Thank you for not letting that be my back...The hotel will bring new ones...and do not worry about not participating. You were wonderful."

I turn to look at the clock, two hours til the match, and we both need to shower or we will smell of sex and demon hormones all day, and in a stadium of angry demons, that isn't wise.

"What are the chances we can make it to the shower without anyone seeing us?"

"Unlikely. Yusuke and Kuwabara will still be asleep unless we woke them, but Hiei and the masked fighter wake up at dawn as well."

"Genkai."

"Hm?"

"The masked fighter is Genkai. The use of a lot of spirit power age regresses the user, and she is really the only person it could be."

"That makes sense."

"Well, do you care if they see us?"

"No. I harbor no shame for our actions."

"Me neither. Let's go shower, then you can go to the stadium early, and I will stalk people. You don't need me as a distraction. Distractions get people killed, and I need you to survive this tournament."

I stand up, picking my bra and panties off the floor and putting them back on. Then my dress. I smile back at him, still naked on the bed. "You aren't going to watch the fight?"

"No. There are four girls who can't defend themselves in that other room, and odds are they aren't going to all stay in a group and let Kuro protect them. Distractions end now, Kurama. I am going to shower in my own room. I love you. Be safe. Don't get killed."

He laughs. "Alright. Strict professionalism until this is all over?"

"Exactly." I begin to head out the door.

"I love you too. Take care of yourself."

"Will do." I exit Kurama's room to find Hiei and Genkai on the couch looking at me. Hiei looks amused. "What?"

"Your hair is matted, and you reek of sex." He says that like it's something to be ashamed of.

"Well, you permanently smell like surgical antiseptic, and your arm is crippled... At least I had fun." I see what looks to be a slight laugh from Genkai and Hiei simply scoffs. "She gets it." I smile at her, and retreat back to my own room. I open the door to find Kuro sitting on the couch waiting for me, smirking like the devil.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I sort of missed the smell of Kurama's bodily fluids...they remind me of old times."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Kuro! I think that is the weirdest thing you have ever said to me, and you have said a lot of very fucked up shit."

He cackles, "Morning sex, eh? Only once?"

"Yeah. Neither of us were in a condition to do much of anything last night, and I don't wish to distract him."

"That is smart. I guess you remedied your regret of never telling him you loved him?"

"I did."

"Did he say it back?"

"He did."

"Oh shit! He always said he would never say it...I guess we determined that was a lie."

"Shit changes. Love is weird."

"That it is..."

"Have you taken Shizuru on that date yet?"

"I don't know how to date, Luna...and If I did, where would we go on this island?"

"You can generate a portal to anywhere at anytime. Don't make excuses."

"Alright...she needs to focus on her brother right now. I get that. She doesn't need to worry about me as well...besides I am finding this game of casual touching that isn't really casual, exhilarating."

"Been there, done that...eventually, you will have to admit what has been happening."

"I know. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"That is a very human saying."

"Well, I found myself wanting to date a human girl. May as well embrace their ways..."

"True that. I gotta shower, if any of the girls go somewhere, follow them. Except Botan, she is fairly capable, just ask where she is going."

"Will do."

* * *

 **Kurama**

I knew better than to look away from my task as I went to the shower. I knew I had to stop thinking about her and focus on the task at hand. She was exactly right, being distracted _would_ get me killed. Only once before her had someone been willing to give their life to save mine, and that was Yusuke, but he acted impulsively, without fully realizing the consequences of his actions. Luna however, does not act impulsively, even though she reacts out of emotion, she does it in a calculated way. She doesn't go into a plan without knowing the outcome. She knew exactly what it would take to save my life, and she knew it would most likely kill her. If Kuronue had followed orders, she would be dead. I am lucky he was never fond of taking orders.

I acted rashly in kissing her in front of everyone, I am well aware of this. But at the time, seeing this beautiful, rare, and powerful creature barely able to stand on her own because she cared for me was too much. I needed to show her how much it meant...how much it means...I acted on impulse. I am glad that everything worked out in our favor. Her secret is revealed to our group of friends. But it cannot get out to anyone else, we would all be in grave danger.

Being intimate with her was a truly ethereal experience. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Many years of living had given me the willpower and control to continue as long as I wished to with a partner, I initially planned to make her peak at least twice before I let myself follow her. But for the first time since my true adolescence, it took me by surprise. _She_ took me by surprise. I am just thankful I lasted long enough to make her come apart first. I was doubtful I would be able to manage that. In my past I always saw emotional connections as a waste of time and a weakness. I never wanted to love another, and thus, I never thought I would. I suppose life never goes as planned though, does it?

I exited the shower and dressed, heading out into the main room to meet the cold stare of Hiei. "Your _mating_ took too long. I wanted to get there early."

I felt my lips curling into a smirk, "Hiei, sex can never last _too_ long, and if it does, you aren't doing it properly." He scoffed, and I saw the amused glance of the masked fighter... Genkai.

"Let's just go" He stood up and began to stalk towards the door. I followed beside him.

"You could have just left without me." I supply, he ignores it. We make our way to the stadium in companionable silence.

* * *

Hiei and I watched Team Uraotogi defeat their opponents with ease in under two minutes. Their leader made a show of pointing to Hiei and I saying we were just practice.

Hiei glanced to me, "What an arrogant fool."

"Well well well, look who it is" I hear Kuwabara and see that Botan, Genkai, and Yusuke are with him.

"Hello" I supply.

"Guess you guys have the same idea we do about scoping out our competition for the semi-finals."

" _Had_ the same idea. The fight is over." I felt a little bad being the bearer of bad news.

"What?" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Koto on the arena floor began to speak again "And so, the first match of the semi-finals will see Team Urameshi facing off against the unbeatable, indefeatable, beyond believable, Team Uraotogi!"

"That is unbelievable" Kuwabara laments, "I mean I can't believe we missed the entire fight just because I took a couple of extra minutes to brush my teeth."

"It was an impressive sight to behold." I spoke honestly, they were over-confident but they were skilled, regardless.

"Though I'm sure your minty fresh breath was well worth delay." Hiei joked dryly, and then looked at Yusuke, " _What_ is that ridiculous appendage growing out of your head all about?" I was wondering, but I didn't want to ask.

Yusuke puts his hand on his hips, I am sure Hiei hasn't been the first to mock him. "It's just a puberty thing, okay?" He turns to me, "So Kurama, how's your wound treating you?"

"It will be fine. I will be fighting again tomorrow."

Hiei looked at me, "It's a quick recovery when you are sleeping with a powerful healer."

"She would be happy to assist with your energy loss as well, you just have to let her." I retorted, Hiei scoffed.

"Or you could ask Yukina to use _her_ healing power!" Kuwabara exclaimed, Hiei became visibly tense. _So predictable._ "She's amazing! As soon as she touches you, you'll feel better than you ever have before! She's pretty too!" Yusuke was looking at Hiei, trying not to laugh. "She's actually partially here to look for her long-lost estranged brother...I am gonna help her look for him just as soon as we win this tournament."

I couldn't resist, I leaned in toward Hiei, "Yukina's brother...Yes. Sounds like a noble cause. We should assist her too, Hiei."

Yusuke jumped in as back up, "Yeah, you could even lend an eye!"

Hiei growled, "Will you shut _up._ " Yusuke and I snickered,

This only added to Kuwabara's confusion, "Wait. Huh? What's going on here? Am I missing something, what aren't you guys telling me? What do you keep laughing about anyway?" Yusuke cracked and began to laugh out loud, which made me laugh too.

"Just what Hiei said about this ridiculous thing on my head, right?"

"I heard him say that. It wasn't that funny." Kuwabara was upset about being left out. Yusuke cackled, and then looked towards Genkai, who was staring at him.

"Hello. What's your problem?" She simply blinked, and then we noticed Team Toguro standing on the other side of the stadium. The crowd was in an uproar. He pointed at Yusuke then pointed at himself as a threat. Yusuke responded by dragging his thumb across his throat and then pointed it down.

"At least your act is tough." Genkai is taunting him

"Hey! I work hard at it!"

Kuwabara was apparently just realizing their power and was beginning to have a break down. "No! This can't be. How could I have missed it for so long? They must have hidden their energy from detection. I feel so...light-headed." He kneels down, "We can't compete with these guys, Urameshi. What are we gonna do?" I could relate to the concern, but excessive worrying isn't going to solve the problem.

The next match to decide who would face team Toguro was about to begin, we watched a few minutes, but finally retreated to a nearby locker room to discuss the events that had transpired.

Yusuke was fulfilling his duties as leader and taking control of the conversation, "I'm just saying it's not that big a deal, Kuwabara, and us bitching about it isn't gonna help." Eloquently put, but the point is valid. "You probably feel their powers now 'cause your senses got better... Come on, Toguro's the guy who made us come to this stupid tournament. None of us thought it was gonna be a joy ride, but we _can_ beat him, okay?"

The door opens and Team Uraotogi shows themselves. The one who was so arrogant earlier was speaking, "Tsk tsk tsk. Don't you think you all are forgetting about somebody?" They laugh, I detest over confidence.

"No one of real importance"

Kuwabara turned to face them, I forgot that he didn't see the fight, "Huh? Who's that?"

Yusuke, ever joking, "My guess would be the freak show rejects." The intruders take it as an invitation to introduce themselves, looking excessively proud. "If you guys are looking for us to go easy on you, you are wasting your -and more importantly- _our_ precious time."

The tall one with the headband spit on the floor. _Classy._ "No, it's the exact opposite. We want a _good_ fight."

Shishiwakamaru spoke again, "We _will_ be famous, but we're going to need more than two minutes of exposure for us to get that way" He values fame, that isn't wise.

"Arrogant little prick don't you think?" Well said, Yusuke.

"You can say that again..." Kuwabara shrugs

"If you wanna be famous, why don't you start a boy band? You got the look down." Yusuke teases the demon, and he turns back, showing his imp horns and teeth.

"We'll get ugly soon enough Urameshi! Just you wait!" He laughs, and the group disappears down the hall.

"Those guys aren't even worth two minutes. Their powers are nothing compared to what Toguro was giving off." Kuwabara is perhaps too confident as well. Never underestimate your opponent.

"We could always wear blindfolds. At least that way would be more amusing." Yusuke adds. Their wins have gone to their heads. Genkai seems upset as well.

"Pride is for the weak, Yusuke."

"Leave me alone!" He yells. Botan returns with the drinks and rounds the corner. "Stop looking at me like that you masked freak!" He punches the wall, and Botan drops the drinks. "If you've got somethin' to say, say it!"

"It's quite simple really. If the leader of team Toguro is _Toguro_ , then the leader of team Urameshi _should_ be Yusuke Urameshi. The question I'm posing is, do _you_ have what it takes to beat Toguro all by yourself Yusuke Urameshi?" Well that may have been a little harsh, but from what I have heard she has never been one for trivial pleasantry.

Kuwabara steps in, "Guys. Guys. Break it up. Let's just try to get along."

Botan steps forward, "Kuwabara's right. Can we please talk this through peacefully?"

Yusuke ignored them completely. "You think you should lead this team instead of me?"

"If necessary. Follow me"

"Yeah! Let's take this outside!" Yusuke storms after her and Puu flies from his head into the safety of Botan's arms. She calls after him,

"Yusuke, don't be stupid!"

"Let them be" Hiei finally joins the conversation. "They will have to settle this themselves."

Kuwabara puts his hand on his chin in thought, "Yeah. That's what we're afraid might happen. Those two are so strong and so mad they'll probably settle this all the way to the death, and that's no good."

Hiei continued, "It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do."

I join in, "And even if there _were_ anything that _could_ be done, It's hardly our place to interfere with their affairs."

Botan didn't appreciate that. "How could you possibly say those things? Can't you see they could tear this team apart?!" None of us responded, "And none of you can even be bothered enough to care!" She stormed out, dragging Puu behind her.

The three of us stood in silence for a few moments, but Kuwabara broke it first, "So, I guess we should go back to the hotel?"

* * *

Kuwabara and I were playing cards and Hiei was staring out the window. Kuwabara looks at me over his cards, "So, hey...Urameshi and the masked lady have been gone a long time." We both look out the window at the rain,

"Indeed."

"Kurama, what do you think about our chances? Two more rounds and we get to go home"

I take a card from his hand, "These are the semi-finals. It will definitely a challenge to overcome." I discard two cards, "We'll be moved to a new stadium with an even wilder crowd. And I'm sure the committee will do anything to thwart us."

"That doesn't bother me. Bring on the guns and arrows, it's nothin' I'm afraid of!"

We hear the door open and look over to find several familiar faces.

Botan is at the front holding several snacks. To her right is Yukina with drinks. To her left is Keiko with Puu, just behind them is Shizuru with a cigarette in her mouth, Kuro and Luna are at the back, smiling softly.

Botan announces her entrance, "Da-da-da ti dah! The calvary has arrived!"

Keiko smiles sweetly, "Hey there you guys."

"You know you coulda knocked, Botan! We're discussing important business here!" Kuwabara replies.

"Oh, and how do you explain the cards in your hand?"

"I guess you've never seen a mobster movie!"

Yukina comes up beside Botan, "Has your back injury healed yet, Kazuma?"

"Oh yeah, it was just a scratch. You want to play some cards with us?"

Keiko comes over to me, "Um, have you seen Yusuke?"

"He's still out with the Masked Fighter. We're not sure where."

"I see. I hope he's fine. Puu's been acting really funny. He doesn't even wanna fly" I look at the spirit beast, and she is right, he does seem distressed somehow.

Luna places a hand on Keiko's other shoulder, "He'll be fine Keiko. They'll take care of each other."

"Yeah!" Botan claps her hand on Keiko's shoulder, "Let's just have some fun!"

"Okay!" Kuwabara yells, shoving his fist in the air. Shizuru looks at him, smiling around the cigarette in her mouth.

"That's right baby brother, it might be your last night in the living. Enjoy yourself. I won't tell mom if you drink your first beer."

"Gosh darn it, Shizuru, you always gotta embarrass me in front of my friends!"

Everyone laughs, and we gather on the couches, there is isn't enough room for everyone, but Luna and Kuro sit on the floor, and the rest of us play cards. We invited Luna and Kuro to join, but they insisted that the temptation to use telepathy to win was too great. Everyone seemed to know not to push. We were all talking and laughing when I saw an opportunity. "Come, join us Hiei, we're practically a family here."

"Kurama! Don't make me pull out your precious voice box!"

* * *

 **Luna**

I enjoyed being surrounded by people who accepted me for who I was. I think Kuro did too, he was always a more social creature than I was, but he didn't get attached to the people he was with. I think we were both growing quite attached to these people. Keiko and I discussed the truth earlier. How she had saved me, and I had taken a human form to keep her safe, but I had grown to consider her a true friend in the time since. She said she understood. She accepted that I was a demon. She still considered me her best meant a lot. She still talked about Yusuke with me like she did before, and she still continued to tease me about not understanding the relationship between Kurama and I. I could tell from her glances during their card game that she was wondering why Kurama and I hadn't even seemed to acknowledge each other as anything more than friends. She was expecting something more like Kuwabara and Yukina. I don't think she knew how to process the strangeness that Kurama and I shared.

Kuro really liked Shizuru. He hasn't told me directly, but I can feel the change in him when he looks at her. I know he is scared of the outcome, but I am very proud of him for taking the risk. I hope it works out. Even I don't really understand Shizuru, so he has his work cut out for him.

I have a nagging feeling about Yusuke, but I know that whatever he is doing with Genkai is their business and I shouldn't interfere. I just hope Yusuke can handle it. Keiko couldn't face his death for the second time. Not to mention that if he dies, winning this tournament will be exceptionally more challenging. If they don't win the tournament they will be hunted down until they are dead.

Botan looks at her watch, "Oh dear, it is so late again. We should be going so they can get their rest for their next big fight."

Everyone else agrees, and we leave Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei as we found them, Keiko looks at me as we step into our own room, "You aren't going to stay with Kurama?"

"No. Kurama fights with his head. He doesn't need me clouding his judgement anymore than I already am. There will be plenty of time for us after this tournament is over."

"I was wondering, how old are you really, Luna? How old is Kurama?"

"Oh uh, Kurama is around three thousand years, and I am somewhere around four thousand. Age for animal spirits is a bit complicated."

"I see...no wonder you don't act like teenagers in a relationship." I laugh, and we all seem to migrate towards our own rooms, seems like everyone was tired. We said our goodnights to each other, but Kuro and I remained on the couch in the main room for a while, just discussing the way we have changed...


	20. It Tyrannizes

NOTES:: Guys! Look! A wild update appeared! Sorry I went missing for a while. This year I started grad school. I am stressed beyond reason, and inspiration is a fickle bitch. I don't know when updates will come now, but I will do my best to post once when I can. I have so much done with this story and I know where I am going, just finding the time and inspiration to do it is hard. Thanks to all who are sticking around. I love you!

-Jumb

* * *

" _Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes."- Marquis de Sade_

 **Luna**

That morning Yusuke and Genkai still hadn't returned from their ordeal. I followed the three remaining members of the team, and Kuro volunteered to look after the girls. I knew he secretly just wanted to spend time with Shizuru, but It meant I could be closer to the team if something went wrong. I didn't like the new stadium, I didn't like being enclosed.

They started the first round of the semi-finals three against five, and I started alone in the stands. I link to Kuro, "Where the hell are you?"

"They are all still asleep. I don't know whether to wake them up or not..."

"Let them sleep...no reason they need to be here anyways. I will let you know if something happens. Let me know when you are on your way."

"Will do."

Down in the ring they decide to let dice decide who fights whom. I don't like leaving anything up to chance.

Hiei was up against Makintaro. Hiei removed his arm and the guy didn't even notice, I began to laugh and the demons seated around me seemed mildly disturbed. He threw the arm to the announcer girl who freaked out, I laughed harder. Hiei _did_ remind me of me. Makintaro grew his arm back, however, this time in the shape of an axe. _How cute..._ He lunges at Hiei, but he stood no chance. Hiei hops onto his back and puts his sword through the top of his skull down through his jaw. I couldn't stop laughing. I hadn't seen anything this fun since I stopped spending time with Raizen.

The demon to my left spoke to me, "What is a pretty girl like you doing cheering for a human team?"

I turn to glare at him, he is low class. A goblin of some sort? _Is this guy fucking serious?_ "I cheer for whomever I like. I would recommend not pissing me off."

"Huh..." He seemed displeased but turned away.

Next up was Kuro Momataro. _Huh, I will have to tell the real Kuro that some jackass who likes to spit bubble gum on the ground took his name. I am sure he won't be pleased...Oh well. Hiei will take the Kuro count back to one soon enough..._

He licks Hiei's sword and then uses it to cut his own arm. Gross, but interesting. He pulls a sphere off of his belt and crushes it, inhaling the smoke the emits. _Steaming Spheres?_ Huh... never actually saw those. Heard about them. Always found it a little bit cheap...like a cop out.

I hear the real Kuro in my head, "Keiko woke up screaming about Yusuke being in pain. They assume he is fighting now. They yelled at me for not waking them up, and now we are on the way to the stadium. Botan suggested a shortcut, but she was full of shit, and everyone knows it, and now I am leading a pack of girls through the island."

"That sounds fun. The guy Hiei is fighting is named Kuro as well."

"Make sure he kills him. There can be only one." I laugh and cut the link.

This fight isn't going as swimmingly as before, but I still have faith in Hiei. Hiei uses the Mortal flame, but it isn't enough to finish him. He is popping those spheres like they aren't a rare treasure. Kuronue really wouldn't like this guy. His voice got more annoying too.

Hiei is letting himself get beat to hell by being stubborn. He has to finish this in one hit. The idiot uses another sphere. He didn't even have a new attack. He is just stupid. The armor of the wolf? _This is just offensive. He looks nothing like me. And a true wolf would never attack like this._ Oh come on Hiei. Kill this guy. He picks up the hilt of his broken sword. _There we fucking go. You finally decided to stop being a showoff and do the logical thing._ Channeling the darkness flame through a sword is much safer. At least the fake wolf Kuro is dead.

I feel the real Kuro again, "Hey. We are here. I found a spot. We are very close. Want to join us?"

"Yeah sure...why the hell not." I stand up and walk to where I feel that Kuro is. We are all sitting in a row. Suddenly Keiko gasps,

"Oh no! I forgot about Puu!"

Kuro looks to her, "It's fine, I left him food and water, and I left the window open in case he wants to go somewhere. Spirit Beasts are very intelligent. He will be fine."

She still seemed mad at herself, but she settled down...looked like Kurama was up next against Ura Urashima. They both begin lashing at each other, Ura with his stupid little fishing pole and Kurama with his rose whip. I wish he would _actually_ fight though...waiting for Ura to make a mistake may not be the best choice here...As I watch I realize neither of them are trying to hit the other. It's a diversion... _Why do I get the feeling he plans to exploit Kurama's kindness? ... again?_

"I swear to God, if Kurama tries to do something nice and gets himself killed I am murdering everyone." I mumble.

"You noticed it too, huh?" Kuro asks, and I nod. I see the girls beside us watching the ring intently.

Then they move, Ura trips, and Kurama strikes, but it appears it was a ploy, and he wraps Kurama in his line, slicing his body in several places. "Motherfucker!" I clench my fists as he hits the ground. "That little shit must have asked him for help and Kurama believed him...that's the only reason he would be so Goddamn careless."

"Agreed. That wasn't a mistake Kurama would have made before he learned compassion."

Shizuru looks at Kuro, "What do you mean _learned_ compassion?"

"Uh, let's just say he wasn't always as kind as the Kurama you now know."

In the ring, Ura stomps on Kurama's rose and begins to laugh. "I studied your fighting and found that your only weakness is your kindness. In that regard, I suggest you change the way, the way you live _your_ life. But it's too late now. How did you put up with this goody-two-shoes crap? I had to choke back some major chunks while I was pretending to be an upstanding citizen, but does it feel _good_ to be bad again! You're gonna die just like grandma!"

He began to chase Kurama, lashing at him with his line, all the while setting up a barrier around the ring. "I am gonna fucking kill him."

"Kurama will-" Kuro tries to comfort me,

"I know he will. I meant I was going to kill Kurama..."

"Oh...alright then..."

The little asshole removes a box from his bag, "Let me introduce you to the Idunn box. Anyone other than the possessor who breathes its air will quickly return to their younger age... back to those awkward adolescent years, the terrible twos, or even infancy! Once infected, you'll be so tiny and inexperienced, it'll be like taking candy from a...Oh well, there is no point in cliche expressions, you'll see soon enough what I mean." He opens the box, and purpleish fog begins to fill the ring, being contained by Ura's barrier.

Kurama tries to hold his breath, but we know that won't work forever... I can feel his energy diminishing. _Dammit._

Kuro lightly taps my shoulder, "This might have unexpected consequences for Kurama.." I was about to ask what he meant when I felt a weird energy from the ring. I turn to see Kuro smiling, "Ura fucked up... He fucked up big."

We heard Ura begin to scream, and then we heard another voice. A voice I never expected to hear again..."I think, perhaps I have regressed further than you intended... and just as I had come to accept my human captivity... Yoko has returned they cry..."

Kuro begins to laugh as we hear Ura screaming, "Did you say Yoko? Yoko the spirit fox? Yoko the legendary bandit, Yoko?! What'd you do with Kurama, I liked him a lot better?!"

"Oh, he's here...He's me. Only, now you have brought me out in full. Thank you for that." The voice of Yoko never had this effect on me the first time I met him, but now that I loved him? _Oh man..._

It is heard to hear, I can just barely make out the words coming from down there but I had to hear this. I faintly hear Ura cry, "Please, be a nightmare..."

"There is no room for your fantasies of denial, little vermin...Be assured, I _am_ alive."

He screamed, "But the stories all say you're dead! You were caught! You were killed!"

"Yes. I'm so flattered you've heard of me. But as you can see, the stories were incorrect..." _Damn this fog! I want to see, goddamnit!_

The thunderstorm of Kurama's energy begins spiking around the stadium. It feels so...different. He smells slightly different too. He doesn't smell human. It's strange. I was vaguely aware of Hiei explaining to Kuwabara what was happening, and I saw Kuro smiling.

"That's how I remember him feeling..."

Koto begins to talk, "I'm barely making out two silhouettes in the center of the ring which I can only assume are the combatants. But the voice I have picked up with my ears doesn't quite sound like either of them. What in the world is going on? Has another fighter entered the ring now? And what about Juri? She's still not reporting. Has she been a casualty in this shrouded fight? Will I be forced to replace her in the ring?"

I hear a child's voice, "Wait, I'm here...is it snack time yet momma?"

Koto continues, "Okay this is ridiculous. In addition to a new fighter, there seems to be a small child in the ring too!

"Fuck it, I am getting closer. Too hard to hear from back here." Kuro nods, and I head down the aisle so that I am standing as close to the ring as I can. "Each branch of this tree has a mouth, and each mouth has saliva that will melt your bones in under a minute. Though the pain will make every second seem like its own eternity to you." I feel the shiver down my spine. Though part of me loves the kind, compassionate Kurama, another part of me loves to hear his pension for cruelty as well. Ura's screams are like music. "I never take anything in battle personal, you realize, it's only that I do not stand for trespassers, and that my death tree enjoys a good meal."

Ura screams, "Please help me! Please Help me! Please help me! I'll do anything you ask me to. I'll fight for your team! Don't melt me!"

"Tell me the secret of the Idunn Box."

"Well, I don't know about that...I just took what they gave me! Ask Shishi! He's the only one who knows!"  
"I can smell when you're lying...it makes my tree want to eat you more."

"Okay, I will tell you everything! It's Onji! Him and Shishiwakamaru! They came to us and said they'd give us anything if we fought! I'm not even Ura Urashima! We were all together, Makintaro, Kuro, and me...They came to us and gave us special items and said we could be high class like them...and that's not all! I can tell you who really gave us all of the items!"

I hear the sound of the barrier breaking, and then the sound of Ura's death. But that didn't sound like being eaten...

I hear Kurama again, "Just a lower-class beast. Always the easiest of pawns. As the barrier falls, the smoke clears and I can finally see him. He looks just as he did the first time we met, but I see him so differently now...he's utterly beautiful. He is staring at Shishi. I can only see his back... but the sight of his tail and his ears fuels something primal in me. _This_ is what Kuro always meant by eyefucking...

I hear Koto, "Hold the microphone people! I've just seen my personal fantasy!" _Bitch. I will fucking kill you._ "Sexy ears, a dreamy tail...who _is_ this love-god?" Can I really blame her though? She is right. She doesn't know he is _mine._ "Shishi Wakamaru's sword is there too, stabbed in a beast! Neither of the original combatants are even _in_ the ring! How in the world do we call this thing?" I reach out to him with my energy, and he turns to face me. There is a lot of distance between us, but I can see him clearly, he is beautiful. His eyes are golden, but they still look at me with love. He raises his arm to reach out for me with a smile. _He is letting me know that even though he has changed forms, he feels the same_. "It appears as though my love-god is making bedroom eyes at someone in the audience! I am crushed!" I watch as he changes back to his regular body, his hand still reaching out for me. I smile at him, "I can't explain it! My silver-haired hunk has transformed into the sadly tail-less Kurama! My whole weekend is shot..."

Juri must be an adult again, because I hear her announce Kurama is the winner. I can't look away from him though, I can feel the demons I pushed out of the way become less than thrilled by the fact that I am still here. I give Kurama a final smile and a wink, and he softly nods as I return up the aisle to Kuro and the others. They seem to all be staring at me, waiting for me to say something. I have nothing to say. No words.

I sit down silently beside Kuro. He knows better than to question my silence right now. I fell in love with him as a human...in his human form...but seeing him like that, as the physical representation of what he really was, it was breathtaking... Was this how he felt when he saw my demon form as opposed to Tsuki?

They were rolling those dice again, I glanced to Keiko, who was extremely distracted. She was worried about where Yusuke could be...hell, I was a little worried too. That was probably why she wasn't speaking about it. She knew we all shared the same fears, but nobody knew any more than she did.

Shishi vs. anyone...suddenly a group of girls in the stands started screaming and holding signs...fangirls. Shizuru spoke, "I guess he is kinda cute." Kuro turned to her, "What? Just because you promised me a date doesn't mean I can turn off my eyes." Kuro shook his head, wisely staying silent. I giggled. Shishi provoked Kuwabara. Our three fighters seem to be unable to decide who gets to fight, so they are playing rock, paper, scissors. _Oh my._ Kuwabara wins and makes his way to the ring, spouting over-confident drabble. "I get the feeling this isn't gonna go well for baby bro." She looks over to Keiko staring at her feet, "And you!" Keiko turns to her, "Stop worrying about whatever trouble Yusuke's in. Worrying about it won't help him _or_ you. Just concentrate on how happy you'll be when he's back."

She gives a weak smile, but it seemed to help, "Alright."

We watch as Kuwabara keeps bitching, but once the match officially begins he runs at Shishi with his spirit sword. Shishi holds his ground, and then dodges last second, appearing behind him. This continues for a few moments, Kuwabara swinging. Shishi dodging. Then he leaps over Kuwabara by stepping on his head. Shizuru scoffs, "How embarrassing."

Kuwabara continues to swing with more fervor. Obviously mad, and then Shishi leaps up, leaving his cloak to fall towards Kuwabara. It begins to surround him.

"That's no cloak..." I whisper.

"No. It's a portal." Kuro replies.

Then Kuwabara disappears yelling, "I'm not ugly okay!"

Shishi begins to explain that he does not know where he is, citing the cape of no return. Shizuru looks at Kuro, concerned, "What does he mean by that? Where's my brother?"

He places a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright. I still feel him, though he seems very distant. I think Shishi's claims were greatly exaggerated for the drama."

"Yeah. Basic portal. Can only go somewhere the traveller has seen, and that particular one seems to only have a range of a few miles. He is somewhere on the island." I explain.

Kuro smiles at Shizuru, "Would you like me to go find him?"

She nods, "Yeah. Bring his ass back here so he can redeem himself." Kuro laughs and stands, heading towards the exit of the stadium.

Shizuru looks at me, "You think he can find him?"

"I know he will. Kuro is a very determined person, and he wants you to be happy."

"You really think he does?"

I smile, "I have known him a very long time, and I have seen him with a great many partners, but I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. He's not good with his feelings, but he is trying."

"I see...Thank you" Shizuru leans back and lights a cigarette, but she is just slightly smiling.

* * *

 **Kuronue**

I was approaching the old stadium when I saw him walking on the ground below, looking very upset, and understandable. I fly in to land in front of him. He looked very surprised to see me, "Hey, your name is Kuro, right!"

"Yeah. Your sister asked me to find you and haul your ass back to the ring to redeem yourself."

He scrunched his face. "She is gonna kick my ass for losing another fight..."

"Yeah, probably..."

"Wait, so you can actually fly with those things?"

I laugh, "Shizuru asked the same thing, why have wings if I couldn't use them?"

He rubs his head, "I guess that makes sense."

"So, are we flying or walking back? It's up to you." I don't really _enjoy_ carrying people, but it _would_ be much faster.

"Uh, I can't fly, dude"

I laugh, "I meant I would carry you."

"Oh...um...alright, as long as you don't tell anyone I let another dude carry me anywhere..." His eyes got wide, "You aren't gonna carry me bridal style, right?"

I laugh as I step behind him, "No. Just try not to move too much." I slip my arms under his and lift off,

"uh...Woah!" He jostles, I have to flap my wings harder to right us.

"Please don't make me drop you. I don't want to have to explain to Shizuru how I accidentally let her brother die."

I felt him laugh a bit, but he was mostly silent for a few moments. I got the feeling he was scared of heights. I felt him move, "Oh, hey stop! I think I saw Urameshi down there!"

Even if he _didn't_ actually see Yusuke, he was jiggling too much for me to safely keep flying with him unless we checked it out. So I landed, and he seemed exceptionally happy to have his feet on the ground. "Oh yeah! Gotta find Urameshi! I know I saw him around here somewhere!" He heads into the woods and I follow him and sure enough we find him leaning against the tree with Puu right beside him.

"What is up with this guy! First he didn't show up for our match and now he's daydreaming under a tree! Oh, look at those cuts! Gross!" He looks at me, "Aren't you a healer?"

"Sorta." I step towards the sleeping Yusuke. He feels so much stronger. This isn't an injury, this is a result of absorbing too much energy. "But this isn't something I can fix. It's not a lack of energy, it's too much. The only thing that can be done is for him to sleep it off."

"Oh...what could have done that?"

"I don't know, but he is _much_ stronger now."

"Well, that's good. We are gonna need that to beat Toguro! We should get back to the stadium now."

"We will have to walk, I don't think I can carry the three of you without dropping someone."

"Three of us?" He looks down, apparently having noticed Puu for the first time. "Oh, hey Puu, you doing alright little guy?" He picked up Puu who made a sad cry, then he handed him to me, "I'll carry Yusuke, you carry him."

I cradle the furry little thing in my arms. It's hurt too. I guess they really do share a connection. "Too manly to carry a fuzzy blue penguin?" I joke.

"No!" He responds a little too quickly, "Just don't want Yusuke to crush your wings is all..." I scoff and he pulls Yusuke onto his back and we begin to walk.

After several minutes of walking he finally breaks the silence, "So, uh, Kuro?"

"Hm?"

"Are you and my sister a thing?"

I felt my jaw drop, of course he would ask that. Would he honestly believe I had no idea? "Oh um... I like her a lot...and I promised her a date, and she accepted. But I have no idea how she feels about me...so... no?"

"That sounds complicated. But then again, so is Shizuru...I think she likes you though."I look to see him giving me a half smile, and I return it. "If you hurt her though, I will have to kill you. It's my duty as her brother."

I laugh, the protective brother routine, it _is_ real. "I'll remember that...I don't plan to hurt her."

"Good"

After another several minutes we see the stadium, and we hear the sounds of another match going on. As we approach the entrance I see Luna and the others exiting, Luna is maintaining a defensive barrier around them. _That's not one of her normal tricks_

As we get closer, I can hear why, Kuwabara does too, "Oh my God, what is that noise?" Then he sees the girls, "Yukina!"

They notice us too, and Keiko sees Yusuke, "Yusuke!"

"Do _NOT_ leave this barrier, Keiko! Not until we have reached the treeline!" Luna calls, this isn't one of her normal powers, it is taking a lot more out of her than she wants to admit. They get closer to us and I hear the screeching stop, only to be replaced by the screams from people within.

Kuwabara and I meet up with the girls, and I grab Luna's arm so she can use my energy to fuel her barrier. We walk with purpose to the tree line, and once we reach it, Luna drops the barrier and relaxes. Kuwabara lays Yusuke on the ground, and Keiko sits beside him.

"Luna, what the hell is going on?"

"Uh, after Kuwabara got booted, the Masked fighter was up. He sliced off her mask, and everyone saw that she was Genkai. The people weren't smart enough to understand how it works so there was a review by the committee to see if we cheated. It worked out. Then Shishi used that sword of his to drain the life from weaker souls in the audience. I got them the hell out. The sound was hard enough to protect them from, what was probably going to come next was worse." We see demons running from the building, screaming in fear. "Nailed it."

"We could have died in there!" Botan cried, looking to Luna, "Thank you!"

"No problem." She shrugs, Kuro, you mind staying out here with them? I am going to go watch, and I'll tell you when it's safe for them to return."

"Yeah of course." She turns to walk away,

"Wait!" Kuwabara yells and she looks at him, "I am coming with you, I have gotta get back down there to fight!"

Shizuru laughs, "So you can just lose again?"

"Shut up Shizuru!" He calls as he follows Luna back into the stadium.

* * *

 **Luna**

Kuwabara and I run in the opposite direction of the fleeing masses. I am glad I was here. That sound could have killed them if I wasn't there. When we got back inside, Shishi was starting up the screeching again. Kuwabara clutched his ears, hell, I kinda wanted to as well. It wasn't pleasant.

He stabs his sword into the ring, and a wall of materialized cries of pain surrounds him and Genkai. Kuwabara makes a surprised noise.

Shishi continues to talk to Genkai, and Shishi only seems to be getting angrier. Then he makes a jumping slice with his sword only to find it stopped by Genkai's hands. She absorbed his energy through his attack and fired it back at him with a spirit reflection blast. She was an utter badass, kicking his ass without wasting any of her energy. He tries to use his Chorus of a thousand skulls, but she uses the energy stolen from him to absorb them effortlessly.

"It's good to see her again. Man, she's something else!" Kuwabara is smiling again, "Yeah! Kick some demon butt!"

I laugh, he is such a predictable but genuine person. Genkai uses another spirit reflection black to knock Shishi down and break his sword. From what I can tell, he is declaring his love and she seems unimpressed. Then Genkai is declared the winner. 4-1 lead. Good job guys.

Onji rolls the die for our team, and it falls on Kuwabara, and he bolts from me and down the aisle towards Koto's broadcasting booth. Juri begins to announce, "Team Urameshi's die calls for Kuwabara to step into the ring now, but the poor fellow is stranded in another dimension. Let's roll again!"

Kuwabara take's Koto's mic, "Not so fast, referee!"

"You've come back to us!" I was surprised to hear Juri seeming happy about that. Huh.

"See, I never get lost anywhere for long!"

Koto looks up at him "Oh my! We thought you were dead-and-gone for sure! I guess the Cape of No Return is a misleading name."

Kuwabara laughs rather awkwardly, "Ladies and gentlemen and other stuff, Kuwabara returns!"

I link to Kuro, "I think it's safe again. Kuwabara is making an ass of himself though."

A laugh, "We are on our way."

Kuwabara continues, "Well this is a tough crowd. I've seen funeral parlors more happenin'!"

Kuro and the others appear beside me, "Where is Keiko?" I ask,

"She and Yusuke are still outside. She said she would call you if anything went wrong. I think the other girls just wanted to leave them alone together and see what happens." Kuro replied, I wasn't happy but it would be awkward to carry a sleeping Yusuke in here. Whatever. She can get in contact with me if she needs me. I can be out there to her in about ten seconds. The rest of us walk down the aisle, it's easier to find a good seat now that a good portion of the patrons are dead or ran for their lives.

Kuwabara doesn't stop, "As acting captain, it's my job to end this with dignity. So let's get ready to rock and roll! Yee-haw!"

Shizuru puts her hand over her face, "Dear God, he is such a jackass. If he has to act lame over the speakers he could at least not use our family name. Idiot!"

Kuwabara jumps into the ring. As the match begins, I feel Keiko, and I am out of my seat and on the move before she even tells me what is wrong. When I arrive I see two demons carrying off their unconscious friend. Chu, Rinku, Jin and Touya are all standing around. They must have beat me here. I cautiously approach just in case they just want some revenge of their own. Keiko looks to Chu and Rinku, "Oh, I guess I owe you a big thanks."

Rinku replies, "Don't get all mushy and stuff, lady. It was no big deal. You're just lucky we happened to walk by"

"Well actually I-" She looks at me, and the others follow her gaze, "had back-up coming."

I give a small smile and a nod and stick my hands in my pockets. "Um. Didn't Yusuke's team beat you guys? Why are you helping us?" Their eyes return to hers and they smile.

Chu kneels down in front of them, I step forward slowly just in case, "Now love, your boy did alright by me, and I don't forget." He seems to notice that there is something different about Yusuke, "Why, he seems to have gotten a might stronger!" The others close in to feel it too, I get a little antsy, they seem friendly enough, but it's better to be cautious.

Rinku speaks, "A might? How much is a might?"

Chu cups his chin "If I went another round with him, I might actually have to try."

"I would say you tried pretty hard before!" Rinku jokes, and Chu punches him on the top of the head,

"Shut your clacker!" He turns back to Yusuke, "Look at him passed out. He looks just like a sleeping junior high kid. He flicks Yusuke's nose.

Yusuke mutters, "Ow! Keiko that hurt you lousey..."

Keiko blushes, and I smile at her. "Uh Yusuke?" She mumbles.

"Stop treating me like a baby all the time. I'm not a kid any...more..."

Chu stands and starts laughing, Rinku puts his arms behind his head, "He is so whipped!" I chuckle to myself, and they seem to have remembered I exist.

"I see you've domesticated our mate nice and fine, missy, we'll leave you two alone so you can keep on havin' your naughty, and so that I can ask your gorgeous friend here on a date." I glance at Keiko as Chu approaches me, I can't tell who is more uncomfortable, me or her, "Well, how about it sheila? Wanna get outta here and get to know each other better?"

I laugh, "I'm flattered, but my heart is otherwise occupied."

He still gives me a smirk, "Lucky guy, do I know the bloke?"

I hear Keiko giggle, and they look at her, "Luna is Kurama's girlfriend." I give her a glare and she looks stunned, "Sorry, I didn't know that was a secret."

Touya steps closer to me, "You are giving off an energy I have never felt before."

Jin follows his example. "He's right, the winds around ye are very interestin'"

I glance between them, "It doesn't really matter. I am of no consequence."

Rinku laughs, "She even sounds like Kurama!"

I smile, "Thank you all for helping Keiko. I appreciate it." They nod, and continue on their way. _Good. I'd hate for them to get the right idea._

I look to Keiko, "I'll leave you to your 'naughty' call me if anything else happens!"

I hear her yelling at me as I walk away, "Why is that all anyone thinks a boy and girl can do when they're alone?!"

I laugh, but continue running, when I re-enter and sit down, Kuwabara is wildly punching at Onji but seems unable to hit him. He takes out his spirit sword, but still can't land a hit. Onji is taunting him, Kuwabara is getting mad.

Yukina yells, "Go Kuwabara, you can do it!"

Shizuru follows, "You can't just wait for him to die from old age, bro!"

Then Botan, "You don't want to lose and disappoint Yukina, do you?"

Yukina turns to her, "But why would I be disappointed if he lost a fight?"

Botan tries to recover, "Oh no, sweetie, it's not true. That's just what we call motivation, you see!"

Kuro chuckles to himself. I try to keep my mind clear in case Keiko needs me again. Kuwabara continues to fight like an idiot. I thought we taught him better than this. Onji promises to stay still, and Kuwabara takes the bait. Onji generates a portal and launches it toward Kuwabara, "Not again..." I mutter as Kuwabara walks right into the bubble portal.

Onji explains that it is the same technique as the cape of no return, but he doesn't need the props. The bubble lifts Kuwabara high in the air. And then the bubble collapses, completing the portal. I sigh, "Probably went to the same place too..."

Kuro looks to Shizuru, "Do you want me to-"

She cuts him off, "He was stupid enough to walk into that trap again, he can walk back on his own." Kuro laughs and looks back to the ring. Genkai is up now, and has realized that Onji isn't what he appears to be. He begins to chant and erupts in a puff of pink smoke. When it dissipates, it reveals a clown.

"This is just getting ridiculous." Kuro sighs.

The clown begins a dramatic monologue about himself. Referring to himself in the third person as 'The Beautiful Suzuki'. Is this motherfucker serious? I can't handle this shit anymore. Koto refers to him without the prefix of Beautiful, and he throws a playing card at her, which she dodges. It lands in the skull of a demon behind her. Spurting blood. "Well that was a bit melodramatic."

He launches into another monologue. He seems to be the only one entertained.

Botan screams, "Go back to the circus you ridiculous friggin' clown!"

Shizuru flips a bird, "Obey _this,_ asshole."

Suzuki fires an energy blast into the stands to the right of us. The girls looked scared, but Kuro and I laughed, even if he had fired it directly at us, we could have easily stopped it. He was a showman, he had items and tricks, but he wasn't nearly as impressive as he thought he was. Demons and pieces of the stand were falling from a couple of feet away from us. The crowd seems displeased at being attacked. _Figures._

Then the match officially begins. About damn time. He begins with unleashing an explosion of colors at Genkai. It was pretty, I would give him that. It would be prettier if he would shut the hell up. He seems surprised the attack didn't even hurt her. He was shocked when he found his nose was gone.

Kuwabara comes rushing back in. I watch as Genkai rips Suzuki a new asshole, first verbally, then physically. It was beautiful. At least this time Kuro was joining me in the hysterical laughter. The demons around us didn't seem amused, but the girls did. Genkai won without using a drop of her spirit energy. She was well worth her renown, but I never had a doubt about that.

"Genkai is great!" Botan squeals.

"She _is_ cool" Shizuru puffs her cigarette.

I give them an agreeing nod.

We get up and run down the aisle to greet our team. The other's lead, and Kuro and I bring up the back. Everyone exchanges pleasantries and comments about the fights. Kurama and I share a glance, one that means that he wants to talk to me about personal things. I know we should, so I give a small nod that says I know. We continue on in strict convincing professionalism. The group continues chit chat.

"Can you believe we made it to the finals? You guys were all super!" Botan seemed chipper.

Yukina looked sweetly at Kuwabara, "I got a kick out of watching you fight, Kazuma."

"Why thank you Yukina! It's nice to see someone appreciates my strategy. See there was no one worth wasting my energy on, so I had the bad guys reveal their weaknesses so Genkai could knock 'em down." Kuwabara and Yukina giggle.

Shizuru shrugs, "More like you made a big mess and Genkai cleaned up after you, like someone always does."

"Hey, that stung! You take that back sis!"

"Just the truth, bro."

"Well no one cares!"

"Actually I'd like to hear it" Hiei teases. I was happy to see him joining in.

Kuwabara did not share my happiness, "Stay outta this, shorty!"

Botan put her hands up, "Now children, behave."

Genkai walked ahead, "I'm leaving."

Kurama was holding his hand over his mouth to suppress his laughter, but managed to get out a response, "It took all of us working as a team to make it this far."

Hiei was quick to respond, "Not him!"

"I fought just as many fights as you did!" Oh Kuwabara, there is no saving yourself now.

"And lost them both." Hiei retorts. I laughed.

"Oh yeah? Well you weren't the one who had to go spinning through outer space."

Shizuru threw her hands up, "And whose fault was that? You walked right into the trap! Twice! Kuro had to go find you and fly your ass back!"

Kurama smirked and looked at Kuro, "Wait, you actually carried someone?" Kuro looks like he is at a loss for words, "I distinctly remember you telling me you 'weren't a damn ferry service and I could use the legs I had' on several occasions." Kurama jokes.

Botan was quick to catch on, "Obviously that's because he didn't have the hots for _your_ sister!"

Kuro puts his hands up, "Hey, I thought we were making fun of Kuwabara here! Don't drag me into this!"

* * *

Kurama stayed behind to watch the next fight of Toguro's team. Everyone else returned to the hotel, picking up Keiko and Yusuke on the way there. Kuro followed them as usual, but I stayed behind to watch with Kurama, though I maintained invisibility so I could watch after him without being a distraction. It felt wrong to leave him here alone, but I meant what I said.

I followed behind him, far enough away that he couldn't feel me. He seemed deep in thought. If I had to guess probably trying to figure out how to become Yoko again. Then he ran into Karasu and Bui, and I watched. Bui was powerful in a brute force way. Karasu not so much, His power was different. I watched his match before. He puts his energy into the body and combusts it, I have something similar in the past, but there seemed to be something different about the way he did it. They were both dangerous.

"You're the only one who watched? Your team must be _very_ confident." Karasu's voice is muffled by his mask.

"Either that or in denial."

"Yes. Accepting the truth _would_ be easier. The finals will come and the four of you will die."

"Just four?"

"Yes of course. One of you dies today." Karasu speaks, and Bui punches the wall, distracting Kurama and allowing Karasu to get behind him. _Damn it._ Karasu wraps his hands so they are hovering just above Kurama's neck. I have seen Kurama face death, but I have never seen him as scared as he was now. The way his body tensed, the way he smelled. It was unsettling. He runs his fingers through Kurama's hair, "Your hair is a bit damaged, Kurama. Human bodies are so frail... I know you fear what my touch could do to you. And yet...maybe you also want to know it."

Kurama swings his arm at Karasu, "Get away!" as he turned, I could see his face. Fear wasn't a look I liked on him. Karasu lept over Kurama and back beside Bui.

"No need to get upset. It's just a game...As a fighter, I like _you_ best, Kurama. And when I like something, I like to take it away. It gives me a certain feeling, like pondering unanswerable questions. You don't reach the result you want, and you are swept with an empty despair that makes you feel alive. Save your fight for me, okay?"

During this monologue I realize that if I want to give Kurama an upperhand, this was my chance to do it. I changed my form, and dropped my energy barrier just enough so that someone as powerful as Karasu and Bui could feel me.

* * *

 **Kurama**

"...Save your fight for me, okay?" He was about to retreat, but I noticed his eyes fall on something behind me. "We are not fond of eavesdroppers. Show yourself." I wanted to turn and see, but I was too scared to take my eyes off Karasu. I heard a woman laughing.

"Not so much eavesdropping, as seeking out entertainment." It was a cool unfamiliar voice, but the way she spoke sounded familiar. _Could it be...?_ Karasu disappears, and when I turn to look for him, I see him pinning a tall, slender dark haired woman to the wall. He wasn't touching her, his left hand was on the wall, and his right was hovering just above her throat just like it was to mine moments ago. She was staring into his eyes in stern defiance.

"You aren't afraid of me, don't you know what my touch could do to your pretty throat?"

She gave a grin, "I am aware, but I am not afraid. See, we are a lot alike Karasu, except when _I_ like something, I like to make it _mine._ " She pulled her hair off of her neck, "Go ahead and touch me, Karasu. I think you'll find it doesn't work as you intend it to." She reaches up, and grabs his wrist to pull his hand so it is gripping her throat. "Do it." Then a look of shock flashes across his eyes, "What's the matter Karasu, did you really think I would stake my life on a bluff?"

She laughs, and he steps away from her and she speaks again, "All this time, believing I should fear your touch _you_ should have been fearing _mine._ " She raises her hand, and Karasu stares at it, like he is seeing something I am not. "So, that's how it works..." She laughs, then turns to face me, "What are _you_ looking at? This doesn't concern you." She looks back at Karasu, "Thank's for the trick Karasu... I'll see you after you _win._ " She gives him a seductive smile and then disappears.

Karasu returns to Bui, who glances to him, and then they both disappear down the hall. Was that really Luna? If it was, what was the point? What did she mean? I stood in the hall for a few moments. I couldn't win this way. I was so scared of him I could barely move.

I retreat into a clearing in the woods near the hotel, hoping to come up with a plan to defeat Karasu when I feel Luna nearby. She walks over to me, "I know, I am trying not to be a distraction, but I have information that can help." She lifts her hand, "Can you see this?"

I shake my head, and then she places a single finger on a nearby tree, and it explodes, "Karasu...so it _was_ you?"

"Yup. Figured if I could learn his power it might help you. I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"How did you know he wouldn't kill you?"

"I knew his power worked through his spirit power, I figured that I could absorb it before it combusted. It still hurt like a bitch."

"So, you _were_ bluffing with your life?"

"Yeah pretty much. But it worked out, so it's all good." I had no idea how she could be so nonchalant about her life like that. "So, the most important thing I learned from this is that there is no reason he _has_ to touch you. I think he does it because it is more interesting."

 _Wait, what? He doesn't have to touch you?_ "What do you mean?"

"He uses his power to create little sentient demon bombs. They follow his command and explode when he wants them to, If you have enough spirit power, you can see them, but in this form, you do not. He counts on that. I know it doesn't help give you any plan to fight him, but I figured at least he wouldn't catch you off guard."

"Thank you, Luna, this is valuable information."

"Was it worth watching me flirt with Karasu for it?"

"Well, at the time I wasn't certain it was you, but looking back, I am going to say a hesitant yes, because though you were flirting with another man, it was still quite an attractive display...and it may help keep me alive, which is a definite bonus."

"So, he had to use his powers on you for you to learn them?"

"No, skin to skin contact is all it takes, I just wanted to get in his head and avoid suspicion, and that seemed like the best way."

I step closer to her, grabbing her hands and holding them in mine, "I want to talk about something."

She looked up at me, "You mean you returning to Yoko for a limited time?"

"Yes."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"It's complicated. When I took the form of Yoko, I retained the memories of this form, but felt no attachment to them. The parts of me that stem from my human side aren't there..."

"I found it ironic that Ura exploited your compassion, and then unleashed the part of you that has none. Though, I need to confess something."

"What is it?"

"A part of me really enjoyed seeing your viciousness, your capacity for cruelty..."

I smiled at her, "Though you may have some very human traits from spending so much time around them, you _are_ still a demon. It's in our nature to enjoy those things..."

"I think it was the fact that you _truly_ are both. You are so willing to show kindness, but the second they prove they don't deserve it, you are so ruthless."

I put my forehead to hers, "I know what you mean. I felt the same way when you saved my life...you didn't just stop Bakken, you wanted him to _suffer,_ and that made the part of me that is Yoko love you even more...when I saw you today through fully demon eyes, I knew that I didn't just love you because I was human now. Even in my demon form, I still saw you in the same way. Though, I will admit, it was a more primal attraction, there were still emotions there."

She softly smiled. "Seeing you in your truest form...with your ears and tail...it unlocked something very primal in me as well. Not that I don't love you in this body it's just-"

"I know. I understand...I still love you as Tsuki, and I still find you very attractive no matter the form, seeing your true form is different...especially when I saw you through the eyes of Yoko. Instinct wanted to take over."

"Because our biologies are similar?"

"I suspect so."

She moved her face closer to mine, "Can we pause the professionalism for five minutes, I really want to-"

I did too. I reached into her hair and pulled her lips to mine. I heard her moan as our lips moved together and our tongues brushed. We kissed passionately for several moments and then she pulled away, breathing heavily, "Alright...I feel better now. You need to think up a way to kill Karasu. I only promised to see him after his win on the assumption you were gonna kill him. Don't let me down." She jokes.

"Alright. I will do what I can."

"Everyone is doing their own thing and nobody is in danger, so I am just going to sit by

that tree over there, if that's alright. You can ask me any questions you want. But I only learned the technicals of Karasu's power. Tactics are sold separately."

"Thank you." I replied, and she retreated to sit at the base of a nearby tree, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against it. I began to look through seeds and possible weapons that could even the playing field between Karasu and I.

After some time, a strong wind of powerful energy blew through, knocking my seeds from my hand. "That power...I've never sensed so much before." I look to Luna who seems conflicted. "What is it?"

"If it is someone's fate and decision to die, is it right to save them?" She mutters.

"No, if someone intends to die a certain way, and doesn't want help, you shouldn't interfere." I reply.

She sighs. "It feels so wrong..."

"I know." I suspect she knows what that power was. I hope I gave her the right advice.

Several minutes later, I felt Genkai's power disappear, "Her energy is completely gone." I glance at Luna who is clenching her eyes closed tightly. This must have been what she was concerned about. She knew Genkai was planning to die, and didn't know if she should stop her. Should I have told her to stop it?

* * *

 _Karasu is superior to me in speed, power,...even in his games of the mind. Image training won't help me. I absolutely cannot beat him. Not as I am._

I was pulled from my thoughts by Kuwabara, "Hey Kurama! 'Bout time I found one of you guys! Come on please tell me you saw Urameshi run by."

"No."

"This is like one of those wild goose thingies! I was following some huge mega energy then it all vanished! Genkai said some weird things, and Yusuke wouldn't say nothin' when he got up and followed her, he was angry."

 _Then my senses were correct. It was Genkai's power that disappeared._

"You'd tell me if he was hiding from me, right?" Kuwabara asks, and I sense someone other than the three of us present,

"Who's there?" I call,

A bandaged blond man appears from the trees, "The exact two guys I wanted to see. Lucky me." He begins to walk towards us.

"You better answer his question!"

The blond speaks again, "But don't you recognize the beautiful Suzuki?"

"Suzuki? Oh hey that's right. I see the resemblance now. You're the 'I got my face turned into pudding by Genkai' Suzuki. Yeah yeah, I remember you. Nice clown suit."

"Better watch yourself, simple human boy, it's against Spirit World law to say my name without putting a beautiful in front." I heard Luna scoff, he glances to her, but doesn't question it. "I've learned from my last fight that my body isn't meant for fighting the way you do. And all my gifted techniques can't compete with your brute strength. You must think of me as an absolute clown." Luna giggles. _Much less now than in your earlier performance, I would say..._

"Our patience grows short, my friend." I prod. "You must tell us why you're here."

"Figures your type is incapable of good conversation. Let me just get to the point" He holds up an item in each hand.

"So what?" Kuwabara asks.

"These two items are my gifts to you." He hands a bottle of liquid to me, and the hilt to Kuwabara.

"Could you elaborate?" I ask, inspecting the jar.

"Yeah, who cares about a fancy ruler?"

Suzuki replies, "It's a hilt, amateur. These were the starting points for two items I gave to my own team. The bottle, Kurama, contains the Fruit of the Previous life, handpicked from the upper realms of the spirit world." I feel Luna come to stand beside me, eyeing the bottle for herself, "It was from just such a fruit that Ura Urashima derived the smoke for his Idunn Box, and drinking that will produce the same dreamy effect of turning you into your demon form." Luna and I exchange a glance over the bottle as Suzuki looks to Kuwabara, "And that one is called the trial sword. Made from a Japanese cedar that grew to great heights by sucking up the surrounding life."

Kuwabara didn't seemed pleased with that, "Ew, that sounds really creepy, I don't wanna hold that." He throws the hilt, and Suzuki catches it.

"For Shishi Wakamaru it became the Banshee Shriek. But for you it should be quite different. And probably without the demons." He throws it back to Kuwabara who fumbles to catch it. "Allow me the pleasure of a few more words, and I'll give you a warning. This fight was the first time those darling items were used. I still can't tell you exactly how they work or what side effects they could have upon their user."

Kuwabara scowled, "So we're guinea pigs now?"

"It's all up to you whether you want to use the help or not. Now cheerio."

I was confused, "Why on earth do you want to help us?"

"Because I dislike you but I _hate_ Toguro. It only took three percent of his repulsive strength to make a fool out of me. I was young...hadn't realized my greatness couldn't grant me everything like it should. I went to pieces at his feet. Pleading for my life. The insult to my pride was death enough. I spent decades refining my techniques and collecting every enchanted item that I could. I changed my appearance and even helped assemble a tournament team. But you easily beat me before I could reach him. And I see it wasn't meant to be. But if my own body can't beat him, then at least my items can. I want you to show him that ingenuity and sophistication can win over strength. Change his mind. Show him that underdogs _can_ win."

"So, Suzuki" Luna spoke, and he glared at her, "Sorry, I don't give anyone a title. But since you are so good at finding enchanted items do you know the Black Broker?"

"Know _of_ him. He is a legend. People call him the shadow king of Demon World. Nobody knows how to find him, though. Believe me. I tried," Suzuki replies, seemingly unamused.

"He isn't really _just_ one person. But an organization. I think you'd be good for it." She pulled a small notepad from her pocket and began writing, then ripped a sheet off and handed it to him, "There is a hub in each world. Locations are on that paper. Go to any of them and say that Luna recommended you and they will let you in."

"Wait, who are you? Are you serious?"

She laughs, "I am Luna, obviously. And yes I am serious. You helped my friends, and I have seen that fruit before, but never seen it used so effectively. You have talent. You'd be an asset for them. Just don't make me look bad, please."

"What if they want proof I know you?"

"Uh, tell them I said Teri is a fat fuck, and nobody will _ever_ love him"

"Who is Teri?"

"The acting leader. It's a thing we do. It's proof that you really know me. Just make sure you said that _I_ said it. He's killed for less." She giggles, and Kuwabara looks at her shocked.

"Thank you." he turns to us, "Beat Toguro for me." And then he disappears, I turn to Luna,

"I was a legendary bandit and never knew how to contact the Black Broker."

She smirks, "Well, can you really be _that_ legendary if everyone knows you are a bandit? Isn't the point to be a secret?"

Kuwabara laughs, "She's got you there, man."

* * *

 **Luna**

Kuro was quickly becoming one of the girls. He was taking to this new social life really well, and of course I noticed how he and Shizuru always sat next to each other. Today was the last day before the finals, and everyone was either grieving, training, or ignoring the impending situation.

I wasn't needed anywhere so I was staying in the hotel room with the girls and Kuro. It was mid morning when there was a knock at the door, I wasn't really participating in the current topic of conversation so I got up to answer it. I opened the door to see Kurama with a soft smile, "I came to ask you for your company for a little while." I started to open my mouth to protest, "I assure you, it is in preparation for my next battle. Make sure you bring your watch." I sigh

"Alright." I head to my room and grab my pocket watch, "Alright guys, I am needed as a trainer apparently, be back sometime. Call if you need me." There were several nods of acknowledgement from the room as I left with Kurama. We silently walked to the clearing we were in yesterday, and he revealed the bottle he got from Suzuki.

"It wouldn't be wise to use this without testing it first. I didn't want to do it alone in case something _did_ go wrong, but I didn't want to be around anyone other than you either."

"Uh, is this a good idea?"

"To test it?"

"No, to have me here when you do. When you take that form, you will be Yoko, and instincts and hormones will run rampant between us as we learned yesterday."

"Is that such a bad thing?" He gives a sly smile.

"In this case yes. Because of our connection, energy will flow between us. The point of this exercise is to see the effects of that potion, but if you touch me, it will most likely skew the results."

"Oh, that is correct... Surely we will have enough self control to conduct ourselves professionally... I trust you, Luna. Do you trust me?"

"I trust _you_ Kurama, I don't know if I trust Yoko."

"He is still me, he is just the more violent, unfeeling side of me. My feelings for you will remain the same. They will most likely just manifest in a more sexual nature."

I bite my lip, "Uhuh, that is what i am worried about..." I take a deep breath, "Alright, whatever, let's do this." We walk to two large rocks next to each other, and I climb on one, and he climbs on the other. "Do not leave your rock, Kurama."

"I will not. You don't think the duration of the effects are exertion based, do you?"

"No, shouldn't be. Not for that type of fruit." He nods, and I look at my watch, "Drink when I say to, and we will see how long it is to take effect, and then I will see how long it remains." He nods again. I wait til my watch hits an even time, "Go"

He drinks a bit of the potion and hands the bottle to me, I sit it behind me for safekeeping. He smiles, "And now we wait."

And that we do, and around fifteen minutes later, I watch my red-haired green eyed human boyfriend transform into the silver-haired fox. He gains about a foot in height in addition to the ears and tail. He tilts his head and looks at me, "Hello, Luna" _Ohhh that voice._ Its deeper and grittier, but it's still his voice.

"Hello Yoko." I state, trying to keep a straight face.

"Please, it's always just Kurama to you." He gives me a devilish smirk and flicks his tail, "Yoko was more of a title that people made into a name."

"Alright, Hello Kurama." I smile.

"That's better...I like it when you smile for me." He very obviously looks over my body. I feel myself flush. "Are you _sure_ I can't touch you? You seem like you want me to... This body is more than capable of handling your claws...and your teeth."

"Well well, you work fast, don't you Kurama? I wasn't expecting the seduction to begin at least until five minutes in."

" _Never_ underestimate a kitsune, Luna."

"It's not gonna work. I was a virgin for four thousand years, remember? I have hormones of steel."

"But now you know what you were missing...and now we don't have to be silent. I can make you _scream._ "

"Oh, there is no doubt, but I am far more concentrated on you surviving your match tomorrow than my budding sexual appetite."

"I would say it is more than budding... You know _exactly_ what you want to do to me, and I can show you things you never imagined." He opens his mouth slightly and licks his canine.

"Cocky, aren't we?"

"Not cocky, just experienced."

"Oh, and does this demon body come equipped with the STD's your old one undoubtedly had?"

He raised a brow. "Very funny. You're a real _jokester._ "

I laughed, "I have to commend you on your ability to make any word sound sexy."

He laughed, it was low and deep, and yes, unbelievably sexy, "It's a gift."

I shrug, and we sit in silence for several minutes. _Ten minutes into the transformation._ The tension is palpable. I'm not looking at him, but he hasn't removed his eyes from me once. He is flicking his tail back and forth to show interest. The movement only makes the smell of him stronger. Which I suppose is the point. I can ignore the pheromones in the air, what is harder to move past is that unrelenting stare. "Would you stop looking at me like that?"

He smirks, "Like what?"

"Like you are going to pounce at the first of consent?"

"I _won't._ I know I can't touch you right now. The temptation, however, is undeniable. Resisting what may be our only opportunity to mate as we are meant to..."

"And how are we _meant_ to?" I knew I was probably going to regret that question, but I really wanted to hear what he would say.

"With your tail wrapped around my hand and my _teeth_ in your _neck_ " He never broke eye contact and his voice never wavered.

"You want to mark me?"

"Yes...and I can smell that you want it too." I watched him inhale deeply. I knew he could smell my wetness, any demon with a decent nose would be able to, and he was feet from me and he knew it was for him. He was still giving me those sexy eyes.

"Would you _please_ stop looking at me like that?"

"Why?"

"Because it's cruel." He knew we couldn't touch. He just wanted to see me squirm.

A wicked half smile, showing his canines, which were elongated, but not nearly as prominent as mine, "I thought you _liked_ my cruelty?"

I shook my head, "When it is directed at your enemies, not at _me_."

He leans back, "I apologize...I just wanted to make this as hard for you as it is for me."

I sigh, "Trust me it is. Do you know how hard it is to want to touch you so badly, but be so scared that I could cut you too deep and really hurt you?" I pause, and he looks at me intently...with understanding. "I have the same instincts as you...probably even more voracious. It's very difficult of me to be... docile."

He chuckles, "You don't have to be docile, you just can't use your hands or teeth...I know that is what your instincts are _telling_ you to do, but I know you have read more than enough dirty books to know that there are other ways of taking control."

I smile, "Is the demon in you telling me how to fuck the human in you?"

He smiles softly, "I am still very much present, though overpowered by the parts of me that belong to Shuichi. I still benefit from this."

"Do you share the same feelings for me now as you do from the form of Shuichi?"

"Yes...though they are different...I love you, but the things that make _me_ love you are different from the things that make _Shuichi_ love you."

"That makes sense...I love you too, Kurama. All of you. I meant that. If you were _just_ Yoko, or _just_ Shuichi I don't think I would feel the same."

"Heh. I don't think I would feel the same if I was _just_ Yoko either...We are quite complicated aren't we?" He smiles at me, I nod. Then a few minutes later, I watch him revert. I look at my watch,

I raise my eyes to meet his green ones once more, "About fifteen minutes to change, and then fifteen minutes in the form."

He gives me a smile, "That was...interesting."

I laugh, "Your demon side is quite forward."

"I am sorry about that."

"Kurama...don't apologize. I like it. It's just mean to get me all hot and bothered when you know I can't follow through."

A sly glance, "You can now...I need to do at least one more test with activity, but I see no reason why there can't be a break between them." He stands from his seat on the rock, patiently waiting for my response.

Oh fuck it. I practically launch myself at him, but with a little more force than intended, because I end up knocking him down onto the grass with me on top of him. If he minded, he didn't show it, because we were kissing fervently. He pulls away for a moment, "I meant we could go back to the hotel, but I am not shy if you aren't."

I smirk, "We aren't making love this time are we?"

"No." He states, his eyes are heated. I remove myself from my position straddling him to

stand and remove my pesky panties. I watch as he removes himself from the confines of his pants without even removing them. Ah, the wonders of men's' clothing. I return to my position on top of him, hovering just above him. He is looking up at me with love and lust, and when I sink myself onto him slowly, we both moan.

I begin to rock into him, and he runs his hands under my dress to grip my bare hips. I am not sure what to do with my hands that doesn't end with blood on his chest, so I put them on my own breasts. Caressing them with each grinding motion. We increase our pace, and the sounds of our moans intensify, I know I am getting close, I know he will probably need to set the pace to follow me, so I fall forward, holding myself above him with a hand in the grass on either side of his head, he looks into my eyes wordlessly, as he grips my hips harder and thrusts up into me vigorously.

"Kurama" I whine, feeling my orgasm approaching, "Come with me..." I feel his fingernails dig into my hips as he thrusts more violently, and I fall into a moaning mess with him as I come, My claws digging into the dirt. And right after I begin, his erratic thrusts tell me he is there too. His sounds are music to my ears, and as we slow, I realize how much that took out of me, and I collapse on top of him. I feel his breath on my hair as he kisses my neck.

I hear the sounds of laughter, and both of us turn our heads to see two familiar Shinobi at the treeline, _Motherfucker._

A thick irish accent rings out, "I can think of worse ways to train for the finals, can't you Touya?"

Touya laughs, "With training techniques like that, I never stood a chance."

I growl, "I may not have full control of my legs right now, but I can still kill the both of you."

Jin laughs, "Now, now lassie, can't go doing the dirty in a public place and gettin' mad when someone sees ye."

"Neither of you were exactly quiet" Touya giggles, covering his mouth with his hand.

Kurama laughs beneath me, "They have a point, Luna. We knew this was a possibility. I am not embarrassed. Are you?"

I smile, sitting up to straddle him once again, "Of course not. I just had phenomenal sex with a future victor of the Dark Tournament."

Jin raises his arm in the air, "Now that's the spirit!"

Touya shakes his head, "We'll be leaving now. Kurama...good luck tomorrow."

I look down to see Kurama smiles, how he can look at them with such professionalism with his dick still inside me is frankly amazing. "Thank you, Touya. Jin."

They retreat back into the woods, still laughing to themselves and I look down to Kurama, who is still smiling at me, "Well, was it worth it?"

"Very much so." I get up from him, and slide my panties back on as Kurama returns to his fully clothed self. "You are going to do a few more tests of that potion?"

"Yes. I need to see if it always lasts the same amount of time, as well as seeing how much it improves my power."

I smile, "I'll leave you to it, then. My watch is on the rock."

I begin to walk away and he grabs my wrist. "I love you, Luna."

"I love you too. Focus on figuring out how to beat Karasu. I'll be watching you from the stands tomorrow. Don't die on me."

"I'll try."


	21. Dungeon of the Heart

NOTES:: SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKERS!

* * *

" _What other dungeon is so dark as one's own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one's self!" -Nathaniel Hawthorne_

 **Luna**

The guys all left for the stadium together. Today was the day. The end of this madness. At least this time everyone was together and easy to protect. Kuro and I escorted the girls to the stadium, and that's when we realized that Botan never got the tickets.

"You ain't got no ticket, you ain't got no seats!" The bouncer demon yelled.

Yukina sighed, "It sounds like it's impossible to get in."

"I'm sorry girls," Botan lamented, "I was so preoccupied when I spoke with Koenma that I totally forgot to ask him about tickets... I'm afraid we won't be able to watch the finals."

Shizuru cracked her knuckles, "Well you know what they say, desperate times call for desperate measures."

Kuro laughed, "I like the way you think, but we won't need to beat anyone up."

Keiko looked confused, "What do you mean?"

I laugh, "I haven't bought tickets for anything, ever." Now they all looked confused. "Just follow my lead, play along, and look confident."

I walked to the bouncer, the girls behind me, and Kuro at the back to make sure nobody got left behind. He looks at me, "Tickets?"

"You already saw our tickets. You're going to let us through now." I spoke, drilling into his brain with relatively no resistance. Most humans put up more of a fight than this guy,

"Oh, yeah, you are right! Head on in!" He stepped aside and we walked in the building. Once we were safely inside, Shizuru exclaimed, "Did you just Jedi mind trick that guy?" She looked at Kuro, "Can you do that too?"

He laughed, "I can, but she is much better at it."

Botan laughed, "Three cheers for mind control!"

We headed into the stadium as the teams were producing their fifth fighters, which for team Toguro was their owner. We decided on a spot, and with a few words I was able to convince the occupants to move, claiming practically a whole bench for ourselves.

Just as our team was about to be disqualified, Koenma appeared as their alternate. Oh dear God...

Botan spoke, "So this is what he meant when he said he had business to attend to..."

We turn when we hear a voice nearby, "Way to go, Koenma sir! You knock 'em dead!". The blue ogre yells, earning glares from all the demons surrounding him.

"He is going to get himself lynched." I mutter.

Botan nods, "You are right, he should come sit by us. If that's alright?"

"Sure, as long as he doesn't ask any questions." I reply, and Botan waves the blue Ogre over to sit on the opposite end of the line as Kuro and I. _Great. Another idiot non-fighter to protect._

Down in the ring, Karasu volunteers to fight. Threatening Kurama by holding a finger to his temple, "Bang."

"That cocky son of a bitch." Kuro mutters.

Koto keeps talking, "From the sound of things it seems like everyone in the stadium is a big fan of the tall, dark and gruesome Karasu."

Keiko stood upright and yelled, "What did you just say?!" All eyes on her, "You couldn't pay me to root for that vampire wannabe weirdo!"

Shizuru smiles, "I don't know. He does have some beautiful hair." Kuro scoffs and Shizuru smirks at him.

At the other end, the blue ogre joins in the yelling, "Don't forget your stretches, Koenma sir!" He turns to us looking at the large bat he is holding "This was supposed to be Koenma's... Guess i'll just use it to scare people." He lifts it above his head and begins chanting, "Kurama! Kurama!" Botan and Keiko join in the cheers for Kurama. Kuro and I chuckle.

Kurama and Karasu get ready to fight, and Keiko notices Botan's sad disposition, "Hey, you don't look so hot, are you feeling okay?"

Botan fakes a laugh, "Oh, I'm feeling great! In fact, so great, all I wanna do is smile! You know, there should be a law against feeling this great!" _Laying it on a little thick don't you think?_

"Oh...well that's good to hear." Keiko sighs, "I'm sad Genkai isn't feeling better, though. I think Yusuke gets a lot of support from her."

Shizuru speaks around her cigarette, "She's right. Things have seemed off concerning Genkai ever since the end of the semi-finals."

Botan emits a nervous giggle, "Well, uh, she did say she was getting older, and everyone knows the elderly need their rest." She gets up and starts to leave. _She needs to cry some more._

Keiko calls after her, "Hey, where are you going now? The fight's starting."

Botan gives that nervous giggle again, "Just need some fresh air. That's all."

Keiko sighs, "That girl, she's been acting like a basket case for days. I hope she's okay."

Shizuru stands up to follow her. Kuro gives her a glance, "I know. I'll think of you if I need any help. I'll be right back."

Keiko glances at me, and I give her a comforting smile. A few minutes later, they both return. And the fight begins. Kurama surrounds himself with rose petals. Petals and Thorns, he calls it. However, Karasu doesn't seem concerned and walks into the cloud. He gets cut by one, but keeps moving. But then Karasu begins to use his little bomb demons as projectiles, combusting the petals. _I told you he could do that...did you just want to see if he would? Did he want Karasu to think he underestimated him?_

Karasu begins to chase Kurama around the ring, swiping with his hands, though he doesn't need the contact, I think he enjoys the chase. He will probably regret that. Kurama takes out his rose whip, but Karasu promptly breaks it in half with a concise explosion. He continues to chase Kurama, and I can hear him sort of _flirting_ with him? _Well, that's disturbing... the intimacy of murderer and victim? That's some weird shit._

An explosion happens on Kurama's left arm and I cringe. Then another on his right leg. I take a deep breath, and I feel Kuro's hand on my right knee. Karasu explains his powers to Kurama, he doesn't know that he is already aware. Karasu manifests a large bomb meant to look like a bundle of dynamite, and throws it at Kurama. There is a large explosion and vast amounts of smoke, Kuro grips my knee. I know he is trying to keep me grounded, eventually I will thank him for that...but right now I am holding my breath, hoping that when the smoke clears I won't see the corpse of the man I love. I hear the girls talking but I don't care. I can't care.

Karasu pulls Kurama's rose out of his hand, and I feel the smallest bit of relief. And then I feel it. I feel his energy. He transformed. _Oh thank God._

Blue ogre yells, "You go King of thieves! You're my man!" I smile.

He begins to talk, and I finally have enough brain capacity to listen, "Creating a bomb from nothing takes talent." He licks his blood from his thumb, "That caliber of power is a sign you belong to a superior class of demons. A class I consider to be fairly worthy... Worthy to fight, and worthy to die."

"You flatter me, but we're still not equals" Karasu makes more bombs, but now Kurama should be powerful enough to see them.

"Rest assured, Karasu. I wholly agree...Now I see, you create monsters that act as invisible bombs." The bombs fly towards him, but he takes two roses from his hair, and puts one through each. "How very clever. That's why I had such difficulty fighting you while I was trapped inside...Lucky for me I found a way to break free from Shuichi Minamino just long enough to finish you."

Kuro laughs beside me, "Don't get me wrong, Kurama with feelings is nice, but I _missed_ him."

Karasu generates a fleet of bombs shaped like bats, but now that Kurama can see them, he is able to dodge them, even though they are locked onto him and keep coming back. Kurama speaks as he runs, "Ever heard of Ojigi? It's a rare plant only found on Earth's South America. The ojigi is extremely sensitive to movement. And when it senses _any_ kind of vibration, it will quickly close it's leaves around its prey."

"I have no interest in gardening" Karasu replies dryly, and Kuro and I both laugh, the girls turn to stare at us.

"Does he not realize who the fuck he is fighting? If Kurama tells you about a plant, you can be damn sure that plant is about to fucking eat you." Kuro jokes.

Kurama is surrounded by bombs, "I thought you'd know better than to corner an animal like a fox, Karasu. We have a tendency to show our teeth." Then in a display of energy, vines shoot from the ground around Kurama, destroying the bombs and surprising everyone except for Kuro and I, who are still laughing. "An ojigi plant is quite dangerous regularly. And it is several times _more_ lethal and _more_ sensitive when it is grown under a demon's energy." He glances at the announcer girl Juri, "You. unless you want to be plant food, don't move."

She lifts an arm, "Kay!" and one of the stalks of the plant comes closer to her and she freezes.

The plant begins to open its blooms to show rows of sharp teeth. "It looks like it's zeroed in on you. I guess all your trembling must have caught its attention. It's useless to run. It will only make you easier to catch" The plants move to strike, and Karasu jumps around trying to avoid them, which only makes them come faster. "How does it feel to be the one pursued?" Several more parts of the plant emerge from the ring, and they start to shoot something akin to energy blasts at Karasu who continues to run for his life. Trying to create bombs and throw them in the mouths, but they only come back angrier. "The ojigi also responds to aggression, so it will be all the more vicious once you attack."

The plant appears to have corned Karasu, and Kurama raises his finger to his temple, "You're going to have to come up with a smart way to kill it. Or else... _Bang."_ He made a shooting motion with his finger and gave a sadistic smirk.

My jaw dropped, "I think I just came." Kuro cackles at me as we watched Karasu get grabbed by one of the stalks of the Ojigi, squeezing until his mask pops off. Then many others piled on top.

"Huh, I thought it was going to last much longer than that. I would have liked to have toyed with him a little before he died." Kurama lamented.

I couldn't look away from him. I heard the girls talking beside me, "I can't believe it. Kurama won." Keiko sounded relieved. I could relate.

Shizuru laughed, "Don't get me wrong, I love my bro, but it's nice to see someone not embarrass himself."

Juri was announcing Kurama the victor when the ball of plants that was once Karasu began to move suspiciously and then exploded.

"Goddamnit." I muttered. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Karasu is back up, and begins to suck in the surrounding air, and his hair turns blonde. He is internalizing his power. I am stuck between worrying about the man I love in the ring, and protecting my friends with me. I don't know what he is going to do, but I stand up, ready to block anything that may head up here. Karasu leaps up into the air, and crashes down into Kurama, I can't see the results but I see that it has destroyed a good portion of the stadium. I can't feel Kurama anymore...

I was about to snap when some rubble moved and I saw him. He was no longer Yoko, but he was alive. I held my hand to my chest, like that would somehow help the fear I felt. _Could he finish this from his human form? Was there anything I could do?_ Kurama tries to take out his rose whip, but it fails. He doesn't have enough power. I feel like my heart is in my throat. Kurama leaps up and lunges at Karasu. _What the hell is he doing?_ Kurama is fighting Karasu in hand to hand combat. He has a plan, he wouldn't do this out of recklessness. But what could it be? Please don't be anything stupid. He dodges a bomb and hits Karasu in the chest, but Karasu quickly realizes, and pulls the seed of Kurama's death plant from his body.

A bomb comes up out of the ring and clamps onto Kurama's left leg. There is a loud explosion and I hear Kurama scream in agony. Kuro grabs my knee once again, but not before my claws have gone deep into my own palms. He was bleeding profusely and laying on the ground. He slowly gets up, but he is surrounded by Karasu's bombs.

Karasu brings the bombs into Kurama's body once by one. Kurama's screams of pain are tearing at my soul. Karasu's mind isn't as weak as Bakken's. I don't know what I could do that would save him without getting everyone killed by way of losing the tournament.

Kurama collapses to the ground in a bloody mess. My hands are shaking. I hear Keiko, "I can't watch him suffer like this."

Then Shizuru, "Karasu is such a bastard. He's clearly playing with him now. I wish he would just get this over with."

Botan didn't appreciate that, "I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again. Kurama will beat him! Kurama can't die, he just can't! I've lost one person I love to Toguro's team, I won't lose another."

Then Kuro, who is actively rubbing my shoulders. "Uh guys, I am trying to keep her from going postal and running down there. You aren't helping. You haven't seen her this mad. I have. I assure you, Luna in pain is not a Luna you want to be around."

I am listening. I am not caring. I'm watching the person I love most bleeding out on the pavement, and I can think of a single way to fix it other than murdering everyone in here who tries to stop me from saving him. Kurama fights to stand up again. He isn't giving up. He is going to do something stupid.

For the first time in six hundred years, I felt tears fill my eyes and spillover down my cheeks. I watch Karasu bring the rest of his bombs to Kurama. I hear his screams of pain. "He plans to give his life to kill Karasu...if that happens...our plan from Touya is still in play." I whisper.

"Of course. I will protect the others while you remind these demons why skin-walkers are a horror story." Kuro replies, slipping his pendant into my hand.

Kurama falls to the ground as a bleeding lump of flesh and bones. I can feel his energy slipping away. He raises slightly as Juri counts. Karasu begins to throw one last bomb, and Kurama screams as he uses what is left of his energy to grow a plant that pierces Karasu's heart. I barely even register getting up, but I am running towards the ring. I hear a blood curdling scream of Kurama's name, but I realize that it's _my_ voice. I reach the rails as Karasu falls to the ground and Kurama's plant moves to engulf him. I can feel Kurama fading. "Kurama, you asshole! You aren't allowed to leave me!" And then I felt him start to come back, or at least fade no further. I sobbed. He moved to get up, and he stood. I have never felt more relieved. I clutched the pendant in my hand, thankful I wouldn't have to use it.

I heard his teammates rejoicing. He didn't win the match, he was down much longer than ten seconds, but he kept his life. That was enough. The others could get wins. I was just so relieved his part of this was over and he was alive. I would be able to think much more rationally with the others. Yusuke ran out onto the ring to support Kurama, just as Juri revealed that the official winner was Karasu. Just as I suspected, as bullshit as it was. As everyone argued they replayed a slow-motion video of Kurama's pain on the jumbo screen. Revealing what Kurama and I already knew was the truth.

Yusuke helped Kurama walk out of the ring and sits him on the ground. Elder Toguro makes small talk about planning to wish for the death of all their friends when they win. I wasn't paying too much attention, I had better things to worry about. I cloaked myself in invisibility and hopped the ledge, silently walking over to Kurama. I knelt down beside him, "You scared the hell outta me, you fucking jackass. You can't tell me to cut the self-sacrificial shit and then try to do it yourself." He smiled in the direction of my voice.

"Now we are even." He whispered.

"Not even close. Once we are outta here, you have to make it up to me." I press my hands to his wounds and he recoils. I begin to try to heal his as much as I can. It is going to be a long day, I can't push myself too far, but I can't let him suffer this much either. I notice that Hiei is about to fight Bui, and I know things are about to get very dangerous. For everyone. I felt that I was about to go too far, so I pulled away, "Is that better? I can't use too much of my energy in case something goes wrong. Unless you condone me sucking the lives from demons in the audience. I can do that if I must."

He laughs lightly, "I feel much better. Thank you. Save the murder as a last resort... you should go protect the girls. Hiei and Bui are probably going to be dangerous for the audience."

"Kuro is still with them, but you are right...I'll head back. Don't do anything _else_ stupid, please?" He laughs, and I run back up the aisles, dropping my cloak when I arrived. I retook my seat next to Kuro.

"'Bout time you made it back. We heard you scream. And here I was thinking you would never show your pain in public."

"Shut up Kuro, watch the fight." I spoke, and the girls all smiled at me. They were worried about Kurama too, and they were probably happy to see I hadn't killed anyone.

"You missed the girls beating the hell out of the demons in front of us. It was great."

"Sounds like fun. Sorry I missed it."

Botan smiles, "It's more than okay! You had your boyfriend to take care of, and since he is standing upright on his own now, it looks like you did a good job."

I laugh, "I still have to kill him. He made me cry. I haven't cried in six centuries."

Shizuru laughs, "Kick his ass, Luna. He deserves it."

The match begins and Bui launches towards Hiei. He swings with his axe but he misses, instead picking up pieces of the rings and throwing them at Hiei. He dodges, them at first, but then decides to just punch them away with the fist of the mortal flame. Even punching Bui's axe with the flame, and it flies off into the crowd.

Bui forms another axe, and Bui throws it at Hiei, who catches the blade in his hand and vaporizes the axe. Bui elects to remove his armor. The ogre suggests that Hiei attack while he is kneeling and the girls promptly tear him a new asshole for being dishonorable.

Bui admits he can't control his power and releases an impressive amount of energy. Kuro laughs, "Great. Two fighters that have more power than they can control. This will be fun for all of us."

As Bui and Hiei throw energy at each other, bits and pieces fly into the audience. Nothing near us, but several spectators are having a very interesting experience. Hiei makes Bui hit himself with his own energy and I laugh. Bui gets back up, though. Hiei finally decides to unwrap his arm, and the energy of the darkness flame surrounds him.

I turn to Kuro, "Which energy do you think we are gonna have to block first? Bui or Hiei?"

Botan looks a little scared, "But you _can_ block it, right?"

Kuro smiles, "Yeah. We'll be fine. Either of us are more than capable of blocking anything they throw out here, and you have both of us. You're far more safe than anyone else in this stadium"

Hiei's dark dragon starts hopping around, and Shizuru starts to shiver, Kuro shows no hesitation in putting an arm around her. Keiko looks at her, "What's wrong Shizuru? You look pale."

"I feel so cold all of a sudden" She answers and leans into Kuro's embrace.

Yukina leads in, "Do you need me to heal you?" The ogre also asks if she needs a doctor.

"No thanks." Shizuru whispers.

Botan sighs,"No I feel it too, something very dangerous is coming. And her gift of awareness only makes it scarier"

Kuro rubs her arm gently. He is good at this. Shame he didn't do it sooner. "We will make sure nothing bad happens."

I nod, watching the fight. The stadium begins to crumble in places. Kuro may be comforting Shizuru, but he is still keeping a watchful eye out for danger. As am I. Hiei unleashes his dragon and it begins to push Bui around the stadium. Until Bui stops it in its path, and then Hiei supplies quite a bit of his own spirit power to fuel it. It was a beautiful display, honestly. Bui is being pushed around, and weaker people in the crowd are being vaporized by the power. I was maintaining a protective barrier around us when Bui turned the dragon back towards Hiei. _Well that's not good, but if anyone can handle it, it's him._

Hiei was swallowed by the dragon, but it was still flailing in the sky...this isn't over yet. Just as Juri was about to announce Bui the winner, the dragon exploded in a burst of Hiei's energy. He did it. He consumed the dragon. _Well, I'll be damned._

Ogre disappeared to be an announcer. Oh well. One less person I have to protect.

Shizuru spoke, "Something gigantic is still here. I can't explain it, but Hiei's attack is on its way."

Yukina spoke softly, "He...looks wrong."

Keiko turned to her, "Why's that Yukina? I don't think he looks any different from when he disappeared a minute ago. Except that wound on his arm isn't there anymore."

I laugh, "You're right Shizuru. This is about to get interesting... When you face the darkness, you can either turn away, like Bui did. You can let it consume you, which happened to Zeru in the first round...or you can face it completely, and rather than let it consume you, you can consume _it._ The dragon is a part of him now."

Bui tries to punch Hiei, who doesn't seemed phased in the slightest. Honestly, he looks scared. As he should be. Nobody has been able to do that before. It's very impressive. Bui continues to throw Hiei around the room, but Hiei doesn't care. He sucks away Bui's battle aura and then harnesses the dragon around him to knock Bui into the crowd somewhere. They appear to speak, and Hiei returns to the ring before Juri hits ten.

Hiei won. He walks back over to his team. He promptly passes out, and everyone begins laughing on the ground, as well as Kuro and I. "Well, I guess he's earned a nap, don't you think?"

Koto makes an announcement that there will be a long intermission while a replacement ring is brought in since Bui and Hiei demolished the last one. I watch Elder Toguro threaten Kuwabara. I have seen a lot of terrible people in my life, but that little man is truly despicable. Then they head back inside, most likely to the locker room. Shizuru wanted to follow them, seemingly concerned about Kuwabara fighting the elder Toguro. I couldn't blame her, so we all got up and made our way to the locker room. As soon as we opened the door, Shizuru began to lay into him advancing toward him in determination, "Alright baby bro, And what are you going to do when you fight this Toguro freak, huh?" She grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"Back off, sis. Not right now, okay? I'm just feeling a little nervous is all."

She seemed to understand instantly, "Yeah, Kazuma, of course." She let him go

Botan steps toward the two of them, "Everything alright over there?"

Shizuru recovers well, "Yeah, perfect." She lights a cigarette. Seemingly deep in thought. She looks at her brother mumbling, "it's real..."

Yukina walks up to him, "Hi Kazuma."

"Oh hey baby!" He instantly perks up,

Yukina continues, "I went by one of the crushed concession stands and pulled out a pack of drinks." She holds up a six pack of something seemingly alcoholic, "I thought it might cheer you up before your next fight."

"You really are something special, Yukina. But I don't need drinks like those to cheer me up or to have a good time. And if I did I'd always drink responsibly." He reaches forward and grabs her hands, "Besides, with the power of our love shining through, I'll beat him in point five seconds."

Watching this exchange, I saw Kurama looking at me. He still looked so hurt. I couldn't do too much about that, but I could do something about the fact that he was alone, I walked over to the extra wide bench he was sitting on and sitting so that I was behind him, my legs on either side of him, he relaxed into me and let me wrap my arms around his waist. I put my head on his shoulder, but most of his weight was leaning against me. He was tired. I was more than happy to support him.

Shizuru took a drag from her cigarette, "Nevermind...he's normal again."

Then suddenly, the room began to shake with what sounded like heavy steps. Koenma, Yusuke and Kuwabara ran out to check it out. Koenma returned a few minutes later, saying that Toguro was carrying the ring from the old stadium on his back. Yusuke and Kuwabara were going for a walk. Kuro offered to watch the girls as they went back to their seats to wait for everything to get organized. Koenma, Kurama and I were left with the sleeping Hiei to wait. After I helped him bandage whichever wounds would weaken me too much to heal, Koenma seemed lost in thought, and Kurama was reading. I was sort of reading over his shoulder, but primarily just enjoying the scent of his hair as it brushed my face.

After a while, Hiei woke up, his Jagan eye finding Kurama, he smiled, "Ah you're finally awake?"

"Where am I? How long have I been out?"

"We're in the locker room, and you've been hibernating for a little over six hours."

"Six hours?! Well who won the tournament?!"

Kurama and I both smiled, "I'm afraid I can't answer that one. Nothing's changed since you were last up. Yusuke and Kuwabara got bored and went for a walk."

Hiei stood up and raised a fist, "You're not making sense!"

"It's taken time to organize since you leveled half the stadium. I hear they were going to fly in a carrier plane from the mainland to transport the ring from the old stadium. But Toguro carried it on his back, so we can begin shortly."

"What?" he seemed shocked, but I had no idea to which part.

Then we heard Koto on the overhead speaker, saying that we would continue in thirty minutes. Kurama gently caressed my arm around his waist, and I knew it was time, I let go of him, and he stood. "Shall we go, Hiei?"

"Yeah"

I walked behind the three of them as they returned to the arena floor, and then made my turn to head back up into the seats to find my place with the girls. We seemed to have a slightly better view this time. And no ogre. We watched as Kuwabara and elder Toguro entered the ring. Kuwabara pulled out his new sword, which was impressive, and launched at Toguro but failed to realize that Toguro had ran himself through the ring itself, and appeared behind Kuwabara, stabbing him in several places with his creepy extending fingers.

Toguro reveals to Kuwabara that Genkai is dead. Kuwabara as well as Keiko seem upset that they didn't know. Toguro stabs Kuwabara yet again. Taunting him that his friends were keeping secrets. Showing a puppet show about the death of Genkai. Keiko grabbed Botan looking for the truth. It was all really sad...

Kuwabara managed to stop a heart piecing with his spirit energy, and then released a flurry of small daggers that rips Toguro into pieces. It looked like he was dead, but he simply pulled himself back together. Getting up to stab Kuwabara and throw him around the ring, similar to the way Rinku did in round one, but with much more malice. Toguro formed his other arm into a knife. Shizuru stood and screamed, "You monster!"

But Kuwabara managed to use his energy to get his sword back, slicing Toguro into pieces once more as he pulled it into his hand. He pulls himself together once again, and Keiko voices her lack of hope.

But then Kuwabara shapes his sword into a 'Flyswatter' and squashes Toguro seemingly into oblivion. I get the feeling he isn't gone, but Kuwabara officially won the match. As soon as he gets back ringside, he punches Yusuke. Thinking he was left out of the know on purpose.

Then it was finally time for Yusuke and Toguro. Wait...Sakyo is coming up? He takes the mic from Juri. He proposes a bet that means the winner of Urameshi vs. Toguro would decide the win. Sakyo and Koenma both bet their lives on their teams. Well, maybe Koenma isn't as bad as King Yama.

Then as the match was about to begin, we heard the laughter of the elder Toguro, crawling up out of the ring. Talking disrespectfully about Genkai, and seemingly upsetting his brother. The younger Toguro kicked the hell out of his brother before punching him out of the ring. He wanted a real, fair fight. I guess I could at least respect _that_ even if I hated him for what he did to Genkai.

Then the fight officially began. Toguro powered up, I really didn't find all the muscles as attractive as he seemed to. The weaker fans in the audience were once again being ripped apart by the energy. I moved to sit in the middle of the group and created a barrier to keep them safe. It didn't have to be a strong one. So long as I held it.

Nothing had really happened between Yusuke and Toguro yet. It was mainly just pointed glares, dodged punches and some chit-chat about loved ones. Yusuke charges his spirit gun, but backs out, knowing he won't hit Toguro, and then the two begin some good old-fashioned punching and kicking. With explosions of course. Toguro blew up the ring, and in the confusion of all the ring bits, Yusuke managed to land a direct hit with his spirit gun which pushed Toguro deep into the woods.

The girls began to cheer, so I speak, "I hate to be the naysayer, but It's not over."

They look at me stunned, then Kuro speaks, "That won't be enough to defeat Toguro. He will come back."

Surely enough, a few moments later, Toguro came back through the hole he was blown through. From the sounds of it, Toguro seemed disappointed. _Is this all about him finding a worthy opponent to kill him? Does he want that opponent to be Genkai's apprentice? Is that the point of all this madness?_

Yusuke rips his sweatband off to reveal spirit cuffs. He really thought he could beat Toguro with those on? He breaks the cuffs and releases a wave of spirit energy that looks like a phoenix. The girls' hope is returned. I hope it isn't unfounded.

He is much faster now, and proceeds to punch the shit outta Toguro. Knocking him to the ground, and then punching his body into a crater. Then suddenly, Yusuke backs away. Toguro emerges from the hole without any of his muscles. Then he begins to glow again, and I raise my barrier again, knowing we will need it. His purple energy erupts into the crowd, deflecting off of my barrier and vaporizing those around us who weren't lucky enough to have a shield. The girls seemed scared, but we were safe. That was more forceful than I was expecting. Kuro reached across behind Shizuru to put his hand on my arm and lend me his power.

Toguro was even uglier at full power, I knew he was strong, but it wasn't pretty. Everyone seemed to lose faith in Yusuke, except for Keiko who was perhaps only blindly confident. Toguro began to shoot at Yusuke with pebbles launched from his thumb. Yusuke blocked them, then went in for a punch that Toguro blacked with his thumb, he then broke Yusuke's left elbow. This wasn't looking good...He blocked Yusuke's spirit gun, and then punched him into the stands. I glanced over to Keiko who wasn't handling this well. I decide we should probably back up under the overhang of the stadium while we still can, and we move as a unit into a slightly safer area.

Then Toguro opens up spouts on his shoulders that begin to suck the life and souls out of the audience. Telling Yusuke that he is the only one who can stop the deaths of the people around the audience. Everyone begins to run away. Then it appears as though Sakyo presses a button that traps everyone in the stadium. Demons from the stand try to charge Toguro, but they are wiped away easily.

Now everyone in the audience is cheering for Yusuke since he is their only chance at surviving. I glance over, Keiko appears to have gone catatonic. She is so scared for him. She wants to be imagining this. She cries out for him and it breaks my heart. She isn't familiar with this life. She tries to get up, and Botan and Yukina grab her to keep her inside my barrier. Botan is giving a moving speech about trusting Yusuke. And then Toguro launches a blast right at us, I pull more power from Kuro as I buff up the barrier to block it. But he seems to have intentionally made it hit to the left of us. Shizuru is lamenting the lack of dates she has had before she dies when Puu flies out in front of us, speaking with the voice of Genkai. Everyone's shocked. Hell, I am shocked? Spirit beast possession? "Luna, you have done a good job. Keep it up. I know you are going to want to step in and finish this, but you can't. You have to let things play out as they should. Everything will be alright. You just have to trust me." I nod hesitantly, and Puu/Genkai flies off towards the ring.

Botan and Shizuru discuss the logic behind it, but I focus on the barrier, and what Genkai is up to. She tells Toguro to kill one of his friends while he watches. _Genkai. What the hell are you doing? Is this why you told me not to step in? How can she expect me not to step in?_

Kuro grabs my arm, "We have to trust her."

Toguro appears to have chosen Kuwabara to kill. "How can we just sit back and let this happen?!" I yell to Kuro.

"Genkai told you to trust her. So fucking trust her." Kuro says more seriously than I have ever heard him.

Down in the ring, Kuwabara charges him, only to be stabbed by Toguro's hand. Yusuke screams, Botan cringes, I hear the gems hitting the floor that mean Yukina is sobbing as well, and Shizuru screams, Kuro the only thing keeping her within the barrier. But...something's not right...

Kuro beats be to it, "He isn't dead. We have to play along for Yusuke, but you need to know he isn't dead. I can still feel him." Shizuru glances to him, questioning his truth, but she has to know he wouldn't lie to her.

"He's severely injured but alive. It is an act." I speak, trying to make sure they know it's not just Kuro lying for comfort.

Down in the ring Yusuke seems to be much stronger. _I guess this was Genkai's plan. But did she really know that Toguro wouldn't actually kill him?_ Yusuke fills the stadium with his energy. His feelings. It's so potent.

Toguro punched Yusuke hard, but it didn't seem to affect him. His energy fills the stadium again. We can all feel his pain and his guilt. His energy feels different than normal, but it somehow feels familiar.

Toguro threatens to kill another friend, but Yusuke is strong enough to stop him. He punches Toguro into the ground and then hits him with a spirit gun blast. Toguro gets up relatively unharmed, and Yusuke asks him to give it all, and he powers up one more time, increasing his strength even further.

Yusuke powers up a spirit gun blast, and Toguro prepares by preparing his own attack, running into Yusuke's blast and trying to stop it. Toguro screams and Yusuke's blast disappears. Yusuke falls to the ground. _Dammit._ Toguro stalks over to Yusuke, but rather than one final attack, Toguro appears to crumble, and all his muscles flake off, revealing is normal body underneath as he hits the ground in front of Yusuke. His corpse turns white. _Consequence of pushing one's body too far._

As Juri approaches to check on the two of them, Yusuke stands up, and Juri and Koto declare team Urameshi the winners of the tournament. _Its finally over. We can go home._ All of us but the still catatonic Keiko share some smiles and some words, knowing that this shit is finally over with. Yukina tries to ask Keiko is she is alright, but there is no response.

Yusuke is lamenting the death of Kuwabara. Nobody has told him yet. But then Kuwabara gets up, admitting he's a faker. The girls continue to joke, and I take a deep breath, happy to finally drop my barrier. I sit on the ground next to Keiko. I look up again when the stadium starts rumbling.

"Stadium detonation now commencing...fifteen minutes." a computerized voice announces over the intercom.

Kuro yells, throwing his hands in the air, "Can't we catch a fucking break!"

Yukina begins shaking Keiko, "Keiko, we have to go! Snap out of it!"

I look at the rubble collapsing around us. "Yeah, Keiko, you know I love you, and I would rather you wake up, but if I have to, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry your ass out!"

Botan continues shaking Keiko, and then I hear Kuwabara and Yukina runs to talk to him. "Kazuma! Something's really wrong with Keiko! She's not responding to anything! We can't get her to move!"

I notice the falling rubble too late, "Yukina!" I call, running to her. But Hiei beats me there. Pulling her out of the way before I get there, and before Kuwabara even realizes something happened.

He looks angrily at Kuwabara, "You're of no use."

Yukina looks up at him, "Thank you very much, Hiei."

Another announcement, "Stadium detonation: Five minutes..."

Kuro exclaims, "We really don't have time for this shit!"

I see Kurama holding up Yusuke, rounding the corner.

Botan yells, "Yusuke, Keiko's not well! Post traumatic stress, and like everything else, she excels at it."

Yusuke moves towards her, "If you can't wake her ass up, I am carrying her outta here." I growl, looking at Kurama.

Yusuke kneels beside her, "Hey Keiko..." He whispers at first, then grabs her by her sweater, "Did you hear me? I said hey it's Yusuke! We can go home now! ...well so much for that... Listen! I'm sorry! But we don't have anymore time to talk!" And then he slaps her repeatedly. _They wouldn't let me do that._

Then she slaps him back, and she is out of it. "What's going on here?"

"Oh thank God, can we leave the exploding building now!" I exclaim.

We all begin to run from the stadium, and Kuro is supporting Yusuke. Then we reach a barrier of rubble. Yusuke tries to volunteer to bust through, but Kurama reminds him he doesn't have energy.

Oh dammit, I hate doing shit like this. "Alright, fine, everyone move!" I cut through the crowd, focussing my energy into a ball in my hands and using it to blow up the rocks, creating a path, we see Chu, Jin, Touya and Rinku on the other side.

Chu laughs, "Looks like you beat me to the punch, sheila!" He looks behind me and to Yusuke, "How goes it, mate!"

He laughs, "A lot better now, I guess."

Chu throws a thumb over his shoulder, "Then don't just stand there like a bludger! Let's go! We can't let our champion team get hurt now!

Gin crosses his arms, "Right he is. When the tourney next around comes flying in we'll have to face you ourselves and we'll have new muscles on us and Whew-whee! You'll go zippin' and we'll be the champions that one!"

Yusuke puts his thumb up, "Right, whatever he said!"

I'm so sick of this shit, "Can you guys be bros _outside_ the collapsing building!" We begin to run, and Keiko gets distracted by Puu, and we have to remind her to run again. We get out just in the knick of time, and the stadium explodes behind us.

Kuwabara yells, "Yeah! With the action hero exit!"

Shizuru sighs, and Kuro pulls her into a hug. She smiles into his chest, and I think my heart grew three sizes.

Botan growls, and Kuwabara asks, "What's the matter Botan?"

"The prizes for winning the tournament! You were each supposed to get whatever you wanted! We didn't even get a souvenir mug..."

Kuwabara sighs, "Aw I was gonna get famous"

"What a crock..." Botan crosses her arms.

Yusuke speaks, "It doesn't matter. Those bastards up in the tournament committee, they couldn't have given us what we wanted anyway."

"And uh, what did we want again?" Botan asks, not realizing., but then it hits everyone at once...They want Genkai back.

Yusuke looks up into the sky and yells, "It's done! We finished it Genkai!"

* * *

We return to the hotel, setting up a little memorial for Genkai by the beach, and gathering our things. Kuro and I kept to ourselves. Nobody was in danger, and we didn't know where to be. Everyone was mourning, and we didn't know what to do. We barely even knew her, and even so, demons don't exactly mourn the same way as humans. We waited in the lobby for everyone else to join, first the guys, and then the girls who had apparently done some shopping. Kuro giggled as Shizuru made Kuwabara carry all her bags, and we all headed towards the boat. Everyone talking about the things they were excited to return to. Kurama missed his mother...Then a familiar voice broke us from our rejoicing.

"Well excuse me if I'm a little insulted." _Genkai?_ Everyone turns to look behind us, "You just gonna leave the old fossil behind?" Everyone runs to her, _they are all so happy._ I find myself smiling too, "Must've rubbed off on me, dimwit. I died like you. Half-assed."

We were all on the boat ride home. Kuro and I by ourselves. We didn't know how to be social, and then suddenly, we weren't alone, Shizuru taps Kuro on the shoulder and he turns around, "You aren't just gonna disappear forever once we reach mainland, right? You owe me a date, remember?" He smiles,

"I guess I could spend some time in living world... see what all the fuss is about." I was smiling and slowly slinking away from them when I felt a familiar tingle and hands coming to wrap around my waist. Kurama rests his head on my shoulder and I lean back into him, looking out over the water.

"Are you ready to go back to being Shuichi and Tsuki?" He whispers into my ear.

"As long as we are Kurama and Luna when it is just us."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

I glance back to where I was standing to see Kuro with an arm around Shizuru's shoulders, and the two of them engrossed in some sort of conversation.

I hear Kurama in my ear again, "After all the time I spent with him, I never thought I'd see him like this...or myself like this for that matter."

"I think I am worried about what he is going to do in living world. You know as well as I do he doesn't function well without a goal."

"I think it will probably be better for him to commute..."

I laugh, "A regular 9-5 job of stealing shit in demon world, then home to be domestic as fuck in human world?"

His chuckle in my ear sounds so sweet, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Hell, it's hard for any of us to be domestic...hard to rationalize working in a grocery store when you've been a major player in the demonworld underbelly for millennia. Or in your case, unrivaled thieves."

"I like to think finding fulfillment in family and friends should be enough without having to resort to crimes."

"I guess we will find out...and remember, when you get home, you and I had a wonderful botany trip with my extended family."

* * *

I walk into the dojo, immediately throwing all my shit on the ground and looking at Hiro playing video games on the couch. "They won. Everyone's alive."

"Wonderful. What are you gonna do now? You still have two weeks before school starts back. Keiko and Yusuke have four weeks."

"Oh, and basically everyone knows basically everything."

"They know Tsuki is really a demon in a human suit?"

"Yep. They're cool with it."

"Well, I'll be damned. Where is everyone?"

"Off to see their own families. Kurama missed his mother. Kuro went back to demonworld, but he will be back I am sure."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he kinda has a thing for Kuwabara's sister. It's cute."

"Pft. Who needs romance when you have Street Fighter?"

I laugh and join him on the couch, "Priorities."

Upon sitting down on the couch I have come to see as my favorite place, in the dojo I have come to think of as my home, and realizing everyone I care about is safe for at least right now, I finally realize how tired I am. I rest my head on Hiro's shoulder, and within minutes, I am asleep.

* * *

 **Kurama**

After returning home to Mother and telling her about all the fun Tsuki and I had on our trip, the two of us had dinner just as we always have. She tells me about her work and about how well her relationship is going, and we smile and laugh and I am thankful I was able to come home to this. I love my mother, but at the same time, I wish Luna were here as well. I want her to have dinner with my mother and I. I want to be around both of them. I had gone from caring about no one but myself to having two people I would do anything for.

Once I retired to my room, I snuck out the window, I know I had just seen her this morning, but I missed her, and I wanted to see her again. I knocked on the door of the Dojo, and I heard Hiro tell me to come in, so I followed orders. I entered to see Hiro on the couch watching television and Luna as Tsuki sleeping on his shoulder. Hiro looked at me, "I am assuming she didn't sleep much while she was gone...she never sleeps well in danger...She gets the bare minimum and then when she finally feels safe she crashes into what is basically a coma."

"Is that why we are able to speak right now without waking her up?"

"Yeah, too much movement will wake her though... if you are going to stay for a while you should come take my place. I haven't moved in the four hours she has been sleeping on me, and I have shit I wanna do."

I laughed, and moved over to the couch, Hiro gently moved her so he could stand, and I sat in his vacated position, and he leaned her against me. She started a bit, and I thought she was waking up, but she just curled into me further and I wrapped my arms around her.

Hiro waved, "You two have fun. I'll be back tomorrow sometime. Maybe."

I suddenly remembered something, "Oh and Hiro? Thank you for saving my mother."

"Of course, Kurama, you are part of this fucked up family now, and that makes her part of it too, and part of me missed hunting demons, so it was sort of fun for me. But, it meant I couldn't go out and hit on desperate women in bars, so I need to catch up on that."

"Have fun, remember, mind control isn't consent." I laugh.

"I know Luna makes it look easy, but it's not. I can't do it like she can. I can barely convince the pizza guy to give me extra garlic sauce for free...we are much closer now than we were, and I finally consider her a friend, but she still scares the hell outta me."

"Why is that?"

"When I met her, I watched her reach into a demon's chest and pull out his heart, then take a bite out of it, just so she could make the joke 'So that's what blackness tastes like'. Then to save my life, she had to kiss me with that same mouth that was still dripping with demon blood. It was a traumatic experience, and it's hard to forget something like that, even when she smiles and falls asleep on the couch with me. I know what she is capable of..."

"I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I have seen pieces of her past, know how dangerous she is. As a demon, I like that."

Hiro laughs, "Just don't piss her off and get yourself mauled to death." And then he heads out the door and into the night.

I look down at the peaceful face of Tsuki, and realize that she has absorbed enough of my energy and she is starting to change. I smile when her transformation is complete and she is scrunching her face from sitting on her tail. I reach down and gently pull it out from under her, and she wraps it around my arm. I feel her ear tickle my chin as she mutters my name. I can't tell if she is waking up or not. I am so used to her waking up at the slightest change in my breathing, but now she appears as though she could sleep through anything.

She rubs her face against my chest, and I use my remaining hand to stroke her ears, and she makes a contented sound. I absentmindedly watch the movie that Hiro was watching, an action film of some sort. After about thirty minutes I feel Luna stir again and I look down at her. She pulls away and looks up at me, "Kurama? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong. Just wanted to see you. I can leave if you'd like." I answer her, she seems concerned.

"No, don't go." She spoke so softly. "How was Shiori?"

I smiled, she always thought of my mother, "Happy to see me, glad that we saw so many beautiful flowers on our trip."

"I'm assuming you didn't tell her most of them were grown by you, and from the corpses of your enemies?" She gave me that smile when she is amused by her own joke,

"No, I left out that little detail...I left out most details, so when she asks you about it we won't have to try to keep our stories straight."

She leans down, laying her head in my lap and looking up at me, "You're sure you're still comfortable with me around your mother?"

I narrow my eyes, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Knowing I am a monster and seeing it are two different things..." She looks sad...scared. Fear isn't something I am used to seeing on her.

"Luna, I know you would never hurt my me _or_ my mother, but I know you would take pleasure in the suffering of anyone who tried to hurt her. You may be dangerous, but I know that at least now, you are only a threat to those who wholly deserve it, and I trust you with my life." I brush my thumb across her cheek as a soft smile spreads across it.

"You made me cry, you know. You have to pay dearly for that."

"When did I do that?"

"Karasu... do you even know how to win a fight without gravely injuring yourself?"

I smirk, "Well, technically I lost that fight." She glares at me and I laugh, "Okay, you're right, apparently I cannot"

"Well, you need to fucking learn. I can't handle this emotional rollercoaster of thinking you're dead all the time."

"How can I make it up to you?"

"I don't know yet... It will take a lot though. The last time I cried was six centuries ago."

"I need to be on perfect, doting boyfriend behavior then?"

"Mmhmm." I had an idea, I reached into my hair and handed her a rose. She took it, lightly touching the petals and inhaling the scent of it, "Are you giving me a flower or a weapon? Because I don't know which interpretation is more romantic."

"Both, I suppose."

"You have the most beautiful way of killing people I have ever seen, I think you should know that."

"You enjoy it, do you?" I tease.

"Very much." She laughs. "Oh, and I put myself in all your classes when school starts back next week. You'll never escape me."

"When will I get to talk to all my fangirls?" I joke, and she back-hands my chest.


End file.
